Ancient Secrets
by Cana-Puff
Summary: AU - Baroque Works is after Luffy, who holds the key to the ancient weapon, Poseidon. So, along with Zoro, who agreed to accompany him, they escape Crocodile and head towards the safest place Luffy knows: his brother. [ZoLu] [An epic adventure]
1. Frantic

**A/N – Oh boy, a new ZoLu adventure fic, because adventures are the best kind of stories. Rated M, for future chapters. I also plan on updating weekly.**

**As a side note, all characters have their pre-timeskip ages, but most have their post-timeskip appearances. The characters who look post-timeskip are: Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Robin. The reason no one else changes is because they look more normal/human/I don't have a good justification for their post-timeskip selves. Sorry if this is confusing, but it also doesn't have a large effect on the story.**

**Now, without further ado, let's begin.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 1**

Luffy lived a quiet, happy life, in the quiet, happy village of Fushia. He was cared for and loved by everybody in the village, though he was the only boy his age (currently 17 years) around. Makino, the barmaid, had a child who was one year old, but Luffy couldn't have fun playing with him. Instead, he was coddled by the adult villagers and his mother, while his Grandfather (who _did_ love him, dearly) taught him how to be tough by tossing him into the nearby forest to survive, or tying so many balloons to him that he flew away. The treatment gave him a strong survival instinct, and he learned how to survive by throwing punches, but he still had very little world experience.

On one normal evening, Luffy was preparing dinner for his mother and grandfather. He wasn't very good at it, but his mother insisted that he learn, and had been teaching him how to make various dishes for a while now. His grandfather, Garp, refused to eat anything Luffy created unless it was proven to be completely edible and wouldn't destroy his taste buds, so making his dinner was a true test for Luffy, he supposed.

The pot on the stove which contained rice started to boil, which Luffy decided was a good sign and turned down the heat a little to calm the sputtering lid. His mother, at that point, decided to come into the kitchen to watch his progress.

"Mm, that smells good!" She commented with a smile. Luffy turned his thousand watt grin in her direction at the praise. It had taken him so long to get as far as he did and his mother knew that, which was why she liked to encourage and compliment him whenever she had the chance.

"I want to eat it now, but it's not ready!" He said, only able to maintain the following pout for a second before the smile managed to take over his face again. His mother walked over and ruffled his hair.

"Soon you will, and it'll all be worth it, right?" She asked. Luffy nodded, beaming.

All too suddenly, there was a rumbling noise followed by a crash from the front of the house.

"What the—?!" His mother yelled and ran out into the hallway to see what was going on. Luffy stuck his head through the kitchen door to watch. Splinters of wood which used to be their door were strewn across the carpet as though it had been battered in. In the doorway, in place of where the door used to stand was a man. He looked evil, Luffy decided, with greased back hair and a scar running across his face from ear to ear. In his mouth was a cigar, and he was wrapped up in a fur coat. Just looking at this man gave Luffy the chills. Whoever he was, why ever he was there, it was going to be bad.

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see," The man said in a slimy voice, eyes falling over to Luffy. Luffy stood his ground, narrowing his eyes at the man, even as his hands trembled and his fingernails dug painfully into the doorframe he was leaning around.

"Who- Who are you?!" He demanded. His mother turned horrified eyes towards Luffy and backed up towards him, so he was hidden from view by her back.

"Me? I am a man from a company you may have heard of…"

"Baroque Works…" Breathed his mother, shaking her head slowly in horror. There was a roar from further inside the house as his grandfather charged through from the garden, brandishing an iron club.

"CROCODILE!" He screamed, "Get away from this place! You have no right to be here." The man looked over Garp and smirked, raising a hand which Luffy realised _wasn't _a hand, but a hook, which must have been placed there after he lost his real appendage. The hook and the club clashed as the two grappled with their strength. Luffy jumped in alarm, and his mother took him by the hand and ran down the hallway. Luffy stumbled after her, managing to force out one of the many questions running through his head.

"What's going on?"

"Luffy, listen to me. That man is the head of Baroque Works," His mother explained hastily, "And he's after the ancient weapons. You see that locket around your neck?"

_Locket?_ Luffy had to wonder for a moment, before remembering that yes, he wore a locket, and had for so long that he'd gotten used to its presence and forgotten it was there. He nodded in response and his mother hurriedly continued.

"It's the key to the ancient weapon, Poseidon. He's after it, but you must keep it, it's important. Do you understand?" Luffy nodded. He didn't understand, but he got the basic gist of it. But what were they going to do about it? "You need to take that locket, and run. As far as you can. Don't get caught, I love you, your grandfather loves you, now go!" And with that, she gave him a kiss on the forehead, and ran back to where Luffy could hear fighting and yelling.

He had to get out of there, but he had to go to his room first. Charging up the stairs as quickly as he could, tripping and stumbling slightly on his way, Luffy skidded into his room, where his precious straw hat sat hooked on one of his bed posts. Grabbing it, and then his china piggy bank which was full of his pocket money, Luffy leapt of the window and landed hard on the ground with his knees bent.

He stood up straight after a few seconds and looked around wildly, before running in the direction of the forest. It was either that way, or towards the sea, and Luffy didn't have a boat, nor did he know how to sail one.

Forest was clearly the answer.

As he ran, he spotted a man following a dirt road, who had green hair. It looked vaguely familiar (which said something, because not many people had such green hair as his). Skidding to a stop, Luffy caught the man's attention.

"It's you! Roronoa!" He pointed. The man looked around and blinked at him.

"You're that kid."

"Yeah! Hey, listen, there are these people after me! They were just at my home and now I have to escape!" He explained in a panic. He wasn't sure why he was stopping to tell the man, Roronoa, but he did, and the man nodded and pointed.

"Go that way, there's a village that way," He directed. Luffy nodded, and was about to keep moving, when there was a loud explosion behind him, back where his house was. Luffy froze then looked around. His house was up in flames, and debris was falling across the surrounding area. There was a clang, as nearby, the pot he'd been using to cook the rice in landed, charred around the outside, and dented from the impact. Luffy stared at the fireball of disaster, unable to wrap his mind around it.

Grandpa had been in there… Mother had been in there… Everything came to a stand-still as Luffy's brain seemed to stop understanding anything around him.

Roronoa, thinking fast, grabbed his wrist. Luffy could vaguely hear him saying something about the people still coming after him, but it was distant, like it didn't matter. He was pulled away from the sight of the flames, and towards the dark, cool forest, as Roronoa pulled on him and his legs complied, taking them further and further away from the destruction.

They went around the edge of the forest until they reached a field, where there was a rusty old barn. Roronoa shoved Luffy into the barn and closed the door with difficulty, because of the rusted hinges. Once it was shut, Luffy was placed in an old stable and covered with piles of hay, which Roronoa quickly and quietly explained was in order to hide him in case they looked in here. Then he proceeded to climb up the wooden ladder to the higher level, and crouched there to watch the door.

Through the small gaps between the old, crumbling planks of wood, they could see the sun slowly setting over the horizon until everything was almost pitch black, illuminated only by what light the moon and the stars could provide, and which trickled in through the ceiling. Luffy found the hay covering him scratched his arms and legs uncomfortably, and the ground beneath him was cold, hard dirt.

The cold felt like it was seeping through the back of his shirt and tangling in his hair, while the hay contained the heat of his body and sent it back at him, and it felt like a battle to warm up his body. Luffy still clutched his hat in one hand, and his piggy bank in another, and he realised that those, along with the clothes he wore and the locket hanging around his neck, were the only things he had left of his home.

Was his grandfather still alive? Did his mother make it out? Perhaps they had been shielded by the explosion somehow? He could only wonder, and hope that maybe one day he'd know the answer. One day, he wouldn't be chased by this Crocodile guy of Baroque Works, and he could come back to Fushia village to see everyone again. Or maybe he'd never be able to come back, and his mother and grandfather were both dead. This thought plagued his mind, and Luffy found tears welling up, choking him. What had happened? Why did it have to happen?

Finally, he let out a quiet sob, but quickly supressed it, recognising the fact that they had to be silent or they might be found, but it was so hard. Tears leaked from his eyes in fat drops and trailed down his cheeks to splash onto the ground. It was all too much to take in, and slowly, because of that, Luffy found himself shutting his eyes and drifting to sleep, letting his brain shut down for the night.

Morning eventually rolled around, and Luffy woke up to the sun filtering in and blazing down on his face from where it had begun to rise. Distantly, a farmer's cockerel crowed, alerting those who weren't already up that it was time to go about doing the morning chores. Luffy blinked up at his unfamiliar surroundings, but it only took a second for everything to come back to him, the weight of the situation slamming him in the chest.

"You up?"

Luffy looked up at the voice. Yes, he remembered that the man peering down at him had helped him get away when people continued to pursue him. Luffy tried to sit up, still rather tired, and pushed the hay to the side, to get rid of the weight.

"'M up," Luffy confirmed with a yawn. Roronoa jumped down, landing heavily, before looking over Luffy and offering a hand to help him stand up, which Luffy gratefully accepted. He gave Roronoa a quick glance over before pausing, eyes widening in realisation.

"Your eye!" Luffy pointed. "Last time we met, you had both of your eyes!"

"Hmph, took you a while to notice," Roronoa snorted and rubbed a hand over the scar sealing his eye shut. Luffy wondered what had happened, but didn't pry. There were more important matters at hand. Suddenly, it hit Luffy how much responsibility had been placed on his shoulders in a few short hours. He was keeping an entire organisation from getting their hands on an ancient weapon…and destroying the world? Or conquering it? That was a bit too big of a task.

"Yeah, well… Anyway, my name is Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy introduced as he was taught, holding out a hand. Roronoa looked at it and grinned.

"Roronoa Zoro." They clasped their hands together in a handshake before Zoro sat on a wooden stool and looked at Luffy seriously. "Okay, now tell me about the situation. What happened? What are you going to do?"

"My mother told me…told me Baroque Works is after me for the key to the secret weapon Poseidon. I don't know really what that means, but I need to get to my brother, Ace." He explained awkwardly. After all, Ace might be his only living relative left…

"So what you're telling me is that actually, you don't know very much at all, you just have to get to your brother?" Zoro confirmed. Luffy nodded, chewing the inside of his lip. Zoro frowned slightly. "So?" He gestured, "Where is your brother? How are you going to find him?"

"Right now, I know he's based North…He mentioned it a while back in a letter." He and Ace didn't correspond much, but when they did, Luffy treasured every letter he received, and put much thought into every letter he sent. Ace had said that sending letters with information was dangerous, so he worried about being too specific then having his post read, but he took a gamble so that Luffy knew where to find him in case anything came up. Luffy wondered, just briefly, if Ace knew that the Baroque Thing was going to happen. But how could he? Still, all that mattered was getting there.

"North, huh? I was just headed in that direction myself. I'll go with you, for a little ways. I doubt you can protect yourself against those guys," Zoro smirked. Luffy puffed out his cheeks indignantly at the implication that he was weak, but he forced himself to get over it.

"You will?! Thanks! And thank you for getting me out of there yesterday. I still can barely believe what happened…" Just thinking about it brought a lump to his throat. The idea that his mother and grandfather were dead was too much for his brain to handle right now, and would always be a concept he couldn't completely comprehend, but for now, it was important to focus on other things.

"Righ then!" Luffy said loudly, "All I have on me are my clothes I'm wearing, and this." He picked up his piggy bank, which he'd left on the floor, and presented it to Zoro. It was one of those piggy banks which didn't have an opening other than the slot at the top for putting money in, so in all his time collecting, he'd never taken money out of it.

"Oh? How much have you got?" Zoro asked. Luffy shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I've never counted because I couldn't get the money out again, and I haven't been keeping track. I'd need to break it to get to the money…" But he was hesitant. After all, all his possessions were most likely charred to unrecognisable lumps, and this was one of the last things from his home which he had. Destroying it… He didn't want to do that. The china pig smiled up at him, rosy cheeks and delicate eyes sparkling with a perfect finish.

His mother had bought it for him when he was four and his father had said that he wanted to teach Luffy about money. It hadn't taught him anything except that when he got lots of money, that was where he should put it. Luffy didn't feel right breaking something his mother and father had given him.

Zoro eyed him before sighing. "You need the money more than the sentimental value, right?" He asked, correctly guessing Luffy's tentativeness. Luffy hesitantly nodded, chewing on his lip. Zoro sighed again (it wasn't a habit of his, but it might just become one if he kept hanging around the kid) before taking it from Luffy's hands. The boy made a noise in the back of his throat and Zoro waved him away before drawing one of the swords on his hip.

Sitting down and concentrating, instead of simply smashing the pig to get to the contents, his sword pierced her belly cleanly, and started sawing in a jagged circle, which ended up looking more like a wonky hexagon. Luffy watched, wide-eyed.

"My pig…" He said softly. Zoro snorted and turned it upright, letting the section he'd cut fall into his hand, followed by a cascade of coins and notes (and a few buttons, which Luffy had put in there when he was little for reasons he couldn't remember) which fell to the ground noisily. Handing the gutted pig back to the beaming boy, he scooped up what had fallen out. He counted everything out and was surprised at how much it came to.

"Hey, you got a whole three hundred and nineteen thousand Beli from that pig," He said, looking up, but was startled to see that the boy was beaming at him with the widest smile he'd ever seen.

"Zoro! You saved my pig! The only thing I have left which my mother gave me…" He trailed off, still grinning like an idiot, but at the same time, looking like he was going to cry.

"Yeah yeah, I'm a saint. Anyway, do you have somewhere to put all this money?" He asked, holding out the fistfuls of cash. Luffy shook his head slowly. The pockets he had in his shorts were shallow and wouldn't fit that much money, and he didn't have the foresight to bring a bag with him. It was just what he could grab with his hands and escape as quickly as possible.

"Fine, I'll put it in my pouch," Zoro sighed. He had a few spare, anyway. Grabbing a pouch he had gained off a man who challenged him to a fight and lost, which had once contained food, Zoro tipped the money into it and closed it up, tying it to the boy's belt loop while he was still distracted holding the pig. "Okay, so we have money. Now, we need food. There's a farmer just past this abandoned field who grows crops. We'll steal some food from there." Well, Zoro wasn't sure if it was abandoned, but it looked like it was just growing grass. Unless farmers did grow grass as well? He wasn't sure.

"Steal?" Luffy looked up at him with wide round eyes. "We can't do that, we're not allowed to," He protested. Zoro gave him a disbelieving look.

"How _else _are we going to feed ourselves? We can't go back to the village because those guys who're after you are probably still there, and we can't go forward without feeding ourselves." To prove his point, Luffy's stomach chose that moment to rumble in protest of its emptiness. Luffy remembered how he'd missed dinner last night because he hadn't finished making it.

"…I guess so," He said resignedly. Zoro nodded before gesturing to the entrance of the barn.

"Shall we?"

"Yeah," Luffy nodded and went over to the door, wrenching it open and wiping the rust which came off on his hand onto his shorts, grimacing. "It's lucky they didn't find this thing, or else they might have blown it up as well."

"No, I don't think so," Zoro countered, looking thoughtful. Luffy glanced at him in question, so he elaborated, "They're after the key, right? That means that if you have the key, they want you, but they don't necessarily want you dead… They wouldn't want to blow you up and ruin their chance to get their hands on whatever this key is." Luffy's hand unconsciously went to clutch his chest where the locket rested and nodded. He didn't know what was in the locket, and he didn't know how it was the key to some secret weapon, or even why he had it, but it was important, that was for sure.

"I get it. So they can hurt me, but not kill me." With that, he grinned and walked out, looking at the sun which had gotten higher in the sky during their discussion. Zoro followed, thinking vaguely of how strange a person Luffy was.

They trekked across the field, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them while they were exposed so out in the open, before they reached the farm Zoro had mentioned. There were crops growing here and there, and Zoro wasn't going to be fussy with what they ate. There didn't seem to be any fruit that he could see, though.

There were cabbage patches, what looked like carrots growing, and wheat. There were bound to be other crops, but they couldn't risk being seen by the farmer. Speaking of which, the man was right in the next field over, trundling down it in a tractor which was leaving streaks behind so that seeds could be planted with ease. If the tractor reached the end and turned around, they'd be in plain sight of him.

"Okay Luffy," Zoro said, pulling the boy behind the house the farmer must live in, "Stay here. Once his tractor comes back this way and turns around again, I'll grab us some food." Luffy nodded eagerly, ready to have something to fill his stomach. Zoro had to be wary of other possible occupants of the farm seeing him, but so far, no one seemed to be about.

Leaning around, he watched the tractor trundle back towards them, much too slow in Zoro's opinion. Beside him, Luffy was getting twitchy and edgy; no doubt he was fussy when he was hungry, which would be a pain for Zoro if they can't get their hands on enough food during their journey. Zoro was used to going hungry for a little while. A little endurance training here and there, same as forcing himself not to sleep, helped improve him in situations where he needs to be at the top of his game without food or sleep. Possibly, situations which were going to arise during their journey.

Once the tractor had turned around again, Zoro had no problem yanking a handful of carrots out of the soil, and found a pump for water which he used to clean the dirt off them. At least carrots were healthy food, even if they weren't exactly suitable for breakfast. Zoro was sure he'd heard a rooster this morning, it was probably owned by the farm, but he couldn't risk finding and killing it… With a sigh, he brought the carrots round to where Luffy had obediently stayed put, brandishing a couple at him.

Luffy stared at them before accepting them demurely, munching on the end of one and looking very unhappy. Zoro raised an eyebrow at him. Luffy pouted right back and mumbled, "It's not like meat. I like meat. I don't want this."

"Yeah?" Zoro responded huffily, "Well I couldn't get any meat, so it's either that or I leave you behind to get your own damn food."

Luffy shook his head hastily and stuffed the carrot in his mouth. "No, don't do that!" He said through his mouthful, shaking his head. "I like hanging around with you, Zoro, you know a lot of stuff."

"You've barely 'hung out' with me at all so far," Zoro pointed out. It was true, though Zoro felt like he'd spent a lot of time with the other while Luffy was sleeping. Zoro did catch a few winks here and there but mostly he'd been looking over the kid and watching out for pursuers. Still, Luffy nodded eagerly. Zoro rolled his eyes and muttered, "Whatever" before jerking his head in the direction of the forest and started towards it, Luffy following on his heels rather like a puppy.

"One more thing, Luffy," Zoro spoke up. "I was wondering, where exactly is your brother up North? And how come he's all the way up there anyway, while you're down here in the South East?" At least, he thought it was the South East. It was definitely East, at any rate. Probably.

Luffy thought about it, scratching his neck. "I can't remember the name of the island he's on… But I do remember kind of where it is. But he's up there because he's part of Whitebeard's fleet!" Luffy explained excitedly. Zoro faltered in his step and stared at Luffy in disbelief.

"So…" He finally got out, "He's a pirate?" To which Luffy nodded happily. "And he's with the Whitebeards?" Another cheerful nod in response, "Whitebeard, as in, the most powerful man in the world? That kind of Whitebeard?"

"Yup!" Luffy confirmed, beaming and finishing off his second carrot (for someone who claimed that he didn't like them, he was doing a good job of polishing them off).

"…Huh." Zoro wasn't sure of what to make of this situation. He watched as Luffy took the lead, following the dirt path into the forest and humming a random tune between bites of his last carrot and looking completely at ease in the soft morning sun, and pausing every now and then to shake dirt out from between his toes and sandals.

So Zoro, it seemed, was going to be going towards the strongest pirate in the world, and not only that, but he was going to, apparently, walk right into the strongest pirate in the world's fleet. That was certainly something they didn't do every day. Well, he supposed that was why they called it an adventure.

And what an adventure _this_ was going to be.

**TBC**


	2. Surprised

**A/N – Wow, look at those follows and favourites. Thanks, guys! And thank you Key46812 and Akaiwara, for your reviews. I'm happy to see people thinking all the right things, too. I really like reviews, so if you wanna let me know you like the story…I'm not stopping you! And if you were wondering, I update on Mondays, around midday (GMT). Now onto chapter 2.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 2**

While they walked, and moved further into the thick forest, the two newly discovered companions made small talk with each other. After some prompting and wheedling from Luffy, Zoro had admitted that it was his dream to become the world's greatest swordsman.

"So I'm looking for a man known as Hawk-Eye Mihawk, otherwise known as the current greatest swordsman in the world. He's up north, like where you're headed." Zoro had been on his way when Luffy had charged up to him last night and had his minor melt down.

"That's cool!" Luffy gasped, beaming. "Mihawk, huh…? Does that mean you're already really good?" He asked brightly. Zoro snorted and clutched the hilt of one of his swords.

"Of course, I'm _brilliant_," He bragged with a grin to evoke an excited gasp from Luffy. "Otherwise I wouldn't be looking for him already. But I need to get better… I plan on getting better on this journey, fighting the foes I come across…" He trailed off, thinking of his techniques and how he'd be able to further them against strong enemies. Of course, there was no guaranty that he would meet anyone worthy to fight him on the way, but if he was headed towards the fabled Grand Line, there should be someone there who could challenge him.

"I've also been thinking, if you have three swords, does that mean you use a Three Sword Style?"

"Santouryuu. Yeah, my own style. I developed it when I was young and have been working on it ever since. It suits me pretty well." Luffy side-eyed him, munching on a carrot idly.

"If you use them all at once, where does the third one go?" His eyes flickered upwards to Zoro's head, and he tilted his own to the side. Zoro could practically see the kid's imagination going wild. "Ooh! Do you tie it to your head? Then you'd be like a unicorn," He laughed, tossing the half eaten carrot to the ground, where a stray rodent flitted up from its hidey-hole to claim it for its meal.

Zoro snorted at the mental imagery. As if he'd do something which looked as ridiculous and degrading as that. "No. I bite down on it," He explained shortly. Luffy eyed him again and Zoro had a feeling he wasn't convinced.

The "Hmmm…" from the back of his throat as he folded his arms (awkwardly, as one hand still clutched his precious piggy bank) and stuck his lower lip out proved to Zoro that he was correct. Zoro rolled his eye.

"If I end up fighting while we're travelling together, you'll get to see for yourself. Okay?"

"Alright!" Luffy brightened considerably at the prospect of seeing a fight like that, which sounded cool to him. Three Sword Style? Damn right he wanted to see that. Actually, he wouldn't mind sparring with Zoro himself. Fists against blades. Luffy liked to think he was reasonably strong himself, having been toughened up by his Grandfather, and, for the short time he was there, his brother.

After a short silence, Zoro spoke up again. "So what about you?" Luffy stared at him blankly. With a wry smile, he elaborated, sounding much like an adult talking to a small child, "So, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Luffy, who didn't seem offended in the slightest by the tone of voice, grinned. "I want to be a pirate!"

"Oh?" Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Just like your brother, right?" The effect was not what he was expecting. Luffy slouched and pouted slightly, looking demurely at Zoro.

"Well, Ace did it _first_, but only because he was older. No, I wanted to be a pirate before then! But Grandpa wouldn't allow it, and kept saying I had to grow up to be a strong soldier. He's a marine, you know!" But he paused and his breath hitched, having caught his mistake, and he corrected quietly, "He _was_, anyway."

"You don't know, he still might be," Zoro said. He wasn't generally one to try and cheer people up, but he didn't want to travel with someone who was acting glum all the time. Luffy blinked at him and his round eyes arched slightly as he smiled gratefully at the swordsman. Zoro looked away awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. Quickly, he picked up the conversation again. "So, uh. Your Grandad's a marine? Why didn't he want you to work with the Navy too?"

"He told me it was because Soldiers fight on land, and I can't swim if my life depended on it." And, Zoro pointed out mentally, if a person is surrounded by water, their life _does_ depend on their ability to swim. So Luffy's Grandfather wasn't wrong there.

"But you still want to become a pirate?" He asked with a small snort. Luffy stuck his nose in their air and nodded.

"Of course! I'll just have to be a pirate who never fell off his ship!" He explained. Zoro let out a bark of laughter.

"Good luck with that! With storms and enemy attacks and everything, you'll never be able to stay on at all times."

"You don't know until you try! And besides, I'm going to get a first mate who will always be there to jump in and save me," He said decisively. Zoro shook his head, grinning.

"Sure, whatever you say."

They lapsed into silence again for a while after that. The thick trees and the vegetation which grew around them were getting harder to climb around, and Zoro had to pull out one of his swords to hack at the thicker branches and the tangled vines. This place was more like a jungle than a forest in some places, and Zoro was half expecting a panther to leap out from behind a tree trunk and maul them where they stood.

But of course, that never happened. Instead, they came across a fresh water stream. Luffy bounded up to it immediately, thirsty, and Zoro wasn't far behind him, though more careful of the uneven ground between them and the stream which could easily trip over somebody who wasn't paying attention. Luffy, it seemed, was lucky to evade that outcome, and knelt down by the edge of the stream, cupping his hands to collect up the water and bring them to his puckered lips, drinking the water up before it could escape through the gaps in his fingers and run down his wrists.

While Luffy splashed about the stream, Zoro kept a look out. The stream was out in the open, not to mention a place they'd be expected to stop at. If the people from last night were still here and trying to find Luffy, this'd be a good place for them to do it, so they'd have to be careful.

And perhaps 'Careful' didn't appear to be something Luffy was capable of. His laughter as he tried to stop the fish in their paths echoed around the surrounding area. Still, at least Luffy looked like he was having fun, but that definitely wasn't something they should be while on the run. To make this clear, Zoro gave Luffy a bonk on the head with a balled fist. When big, confused eyes turned towards him, Zoro made a shushing gesture which Luffy understood, and he reluctantly moved away from the water.

Zoro sidled up to it and crouched to quickly get a few gulps in, splashing his face and rubbing it over his hair. The cool of the water felt refreshing, and refreshed was exactly what he needed to be while travelling. While he let the rivulets of water run down his face, he grabbed a couple of water pouches which had been emptied a while ago. He tossed one to Luffy.

"Oi, fill that up so we can have something to drink later," He instructed. Luffy caught it and nodded, ducking down to the stream again and holding the opening of the pouch to the surface of the water, letting it rush in and fill the bag up, before screwing the cap on again. Zoro followed suit, tying his own to his belt. Luffy copied him, and soon they were set to go again.

It didn't take long for Luffy to start complaining that he was hungry again. Then again, Zoro supposed, it was past lunch time, and Zoro admitted that a little food wouldn't go amiss. So, they tracked down some animals and Zoro slaughtered and prepared them with his swords, while Luffy collected up some firewood to cook them on. Briefly, Zoro regretted not trying to grab a few fish from the stream as well, but they were far behind the two and Zoro would not backtrack to get them.

Once they had a roaring fire going (and what fun _that_ was; neither knew quite how to start a fire. Zoro knew there were sparks involved, so he tried knocking two stones together, but that didn't work. Eventually, they got it going by rapidly spinning a stick while balancing it on top of another stick. Zoro wasn't sure how that worked, but it had, and they'd both thrown themselves to the ground to blow on the quickly ebbing flames they'd created) Zoro speared the animals on their own sticks and stuck the sticks into the dirt so that they hovered over the flames and cooked slowly. He wasn't a chef, but he knew when meat had been cooked enough to eat.

While they ate, Luffy attempted to swap stories with Zoro, but it ended up with Luffy telling Zoro about many things he'd done and Zoro listening and not providing a story of his own. It turned out that Luffy had had quite the exciting childhood. As he listened, he focused on the fire in front of him, and the faint heat he could feel against his face from sitting too close. It crackled merrily at him, sometimes swerving a little too dangerously close to his knees, forcing him to shift backwards slightly. Without a first aid kit, it would be bad if anyone had an accident.

"You know, Zoro…" Luffy spoke up after a moment of silence. Zoro looked up at him questioningly. Luffy stared down at his food almost shyly. "I'm glad that it was _you_ who I found yesterday… Just so you know," he confessed.

"Oh yeah?" Zoro asked quietly in return. Luffy nodded.

"I'm glad we're friends and we're travelling together for a while, because you're nice and I want to get to know you better."

Zoro felt his cheeks go warm, but he couldn't help but smile at the surprisingly sweet words coming from the boy, even if they were corny. He reached over the fire and knocked his hat back so that it sat around his neck, hanging off its string, and ruffled his hair. He wasn't sure why he'd picked up that oddly affectionate move, it just felt right to do it to Luffy, who looked like such a kid (and a cute one at that, not that Zoro wanted to admit that).

"Thanks. I guess you're not too bad yourself." Even if he was a little annoying at times, and spoke too fast when he got excited. "Now go on eat your food," He instructed. Luffy brightened and nodded, digging into the meat on the stick in front of him, and resuming telling Zoro about his home life from a long time ago.

They'd nearly finished eating when Luffy was recounting the many great fiascos caused by one of his older brother's narcoleptic fits and Zoro heart a rustle in the bushes not far off. He quickly quieted Luffy who asked in a loud, uncomprehending voice, "What's the matter, Zoro?" To which Zoro had to resist slapping a palm to his forehead in frustration.

"Shut up!" He hissed at the boy, who was currently exploring his nasal cavity with a finger, but it was too late. They'd been spotted, and most likely because of the fire. Since it wasn't dark out, it was most likely the smoke that gave them away, and not the flames themselves. Quickly, Zoro kicked a pile of dirt over the fire to put it out. Some of it sprayed over Luffy's lap, and the boy made a disgruntled noise, but Zoro didn't feel like feeling sorry for the boy for giving them away so loudly.

There was the sound of a gun cocking – or maybe it was many – as three men emerged from the undergrowth, brushing dirt and leaves as they stood, grinning. Behind him, Zoro could hear the footsteps of some more people.

"Boys, we've been spotted," One of them chuckled needlessly (Zoro was certain that one was supposed to say that _before_ the whole group showed themselves, after all). He looked like the boss, and was wearing a bandanna lopsidedly in a way which Zoro was sure would obscure his vision. Careless, he thought, but of course Zoro had been careless too, to get them found. Luckily, it was just a bunch of worthless bandits who probably didn't hold a bounty between them.

Luffy stared at the men blankly. "Who the hell are you guys? Go away, I was eating." This caused a rumble of laughter to emanate from the group.

"Hear that, boys? We interrupted his meal. How _rude_ of us," The leader said loudly, causing the chuckles to increase. These people were pissing Zoro off. He would like to just leap up and fight them, but some of them had their guns trained on Luffy, and Zoro wasn't sure if Luffy had good enough reflexes to literally dodge a bullet.

"If you're after money, you can fuck off," He said instead. That changed the tone of the noises they were making to ones of displeasure. Honestly, most of them sounded like they could only grunt, as though talking was beyond them.

"What'dju say?" The man sneered. Apparently he was losing his ability to speak properly now too, Zoro noted with amusement.

"I _said_," Zoro growled, frustrated, "that you can take those guns and go fuck yourselves with 'em!" After his comment, the guns which had previously pointed at Luffy switched to him instead in their anger. Zoro smirked and prepared for a battle. He slowly got onto one knee and grabbed the hilt of Wado to pull it out, but one of the bandits grabbed Luffy from behind, taking him by surprise. A muscled arm wrapped around his neck, cutting off his movements.

"What the-!" Luffy yelped, balling his hands into fists and trying to jerk away, but stopped when he heard a click next to his ear and felt the barrel of a gun prod at his temple.

"This one looked like he was planning on fighting too," The bandit sneered. Luffy went still and pouted, looking more like a chastised child than someone in a hostage situation.

"I'm sorry. Let me go," He said in a monotonous voice. A bandit kicked him in the thigh for his effort.

Zoro's breath hitched as he stood abruptly and charged for the bandit holding Luffy, but a couple of the bandits fired and Zoro had to pull back in so he would be out of range. One of the bullets still grazed his arm, making him wince.

As the bandits prepared to fire their rounds at him, one of them was hit in the back from an unknown force. Zoro watched as the man was barrelled to the ground, winded.

"What? They had allies?!" One of them gasped. Zoro narrowed his eye suspiciously. He knew they didn't know anyone around here, but if it happened to be one of those Baroque Works people, they would have to be on their toes. But Zoro couldn't see anyone once the bandit fell. However, he did hear hooves galloping around the outside of the circle. Was the mysterious assailant on a horse? If he couldn't see him above the heads of the bandits, it'd have to be a midget on a donkey.

Before Zoro could speculate any longer, the one holding Luffy was smashed into from the side by an animal. Actually, a reindeer. Zoro had to do a double take, blinking in surprise. What was a reindeer doing, defending them? But he didn't have time to think about that, because the bandits were coming back to their senses. While they were distracted by the reindeer (which was wearing a puffy blue hat and had a strange blue nose, by the way, which was even more confusing) Zoro whipped out two of his swords and charged at the bandits, cutting them up with the sharp edge of his blades, and knocking the guns out of their hands with the blunt edge.

Between the three of them, the last of the bandits were down for the count, unconscious in no time. Zoro went over to Luffy to see if he was okay, and Luffy proved that he was by bouncing up and attempting to give Zoro a high-five. Zoro refused.

"Oh, but wow!" Luffy cheered, looking over at the reindeer. "You saved our lives! Thanks!" But the reindeer, once the excitement was over and the adrenaline rush had gone away, jumped and cowered behind a tree.

"Why's a reindeer wearing a hat?" Zoro asked, but the reindeer, being a reindeer, didn't supply an answer.

"Because it's cool!" Luffy replied in its stead, looking over at the reindeer and marvelling at it. His eyes shined with admiration, and he kept bouncing from foot to foot excitedly. "Come here, reindeer!" He cooed, before digging into his pocket, where the last forgotten god damn breakfast carrot had been stuffed a while ago, pulling it out and presenting it in the reindeer's direction. "C'mon, don't be shy. You just saved us. Here, here, here…" He muttered, voice dropping lower as the reindeer poked its head around the tree and tentatively approached Luffy, chomping down on the carrot in his hand. Luffy giggled and petted his muzzle. "Good!"

"Well done, it seems you've made a friend," Zoro deadpanned, watching the exchange. Luffy laughed and stroked the reindeer more openly.

"Hey!" He chirped suddenly. "There's writing on his hat!" And indeed, upon closer inspection, the brim of his had had the small words _T. T. Chopper_ scrawled across it.

"'T. T. Chopper'?" Zoro repeated, "That must be his name. I wonder what the two 'T's stand for though."

"I guess we'll never know. In that case, I'll just call you Chopper! Thank you for saving us, Chopper!" He laughed, hugging the creature around its neck. 'Chopper' stamped his hooves and snorted down Luffy's neck, making him cringe and giggle.

Zoro stood and stretched, ready to leave now that they'd finished eating and put the fire out. He paused only to rifle through the unconscious bodies of the bandits, picking out the money they had. If Luffy disapproved, he didn't say anything. It wasn't like they hadn't stolen it in the first place anyway.

"Say, Chopper, since you have a name, do you belong to anyone?" Luffy asked. Chopper looked at him with large black eyes, blinking slowly, before turning and walking away and into the forest. Luffy jumped to follow him and Zoro gaped after them, hurrying to finish what he was doing and follow the pair.

While he trailed behind them, he remembered that he'd been injured and glanced down at his arm. It was barely wounded, but had bled all down his sleeve and along his bare arm before drying there. It felt uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do until they reached the village. In the meantime he supposed he could bandage up the wound, but what was the point when it had stopped bleeding?

Suddenly, the hooves up ahead stopped in their tracks, and Luffy stopped with them, causing Zoro to nearly bump into Luffy's back, startled. "Whoa, what-?" He asked, blinking.

"It's…" Luffy said, looking down at something by Chopper's feet. That something was a pair of sticks tied together in the shape of a cross and embedded in the ground behind a small rock, which had the words "Dr. Hiluluk. A good man." carved messily and jaggedly into its face.

"It's a grave," Luffy breathed in surprise. "Wait, so was he the one who owned you?"

Chopper snorted and bowed his head down to the grave in response, shifting his hooves awkwardly. Luffy reached over and petted his neck.

Zoro stared down at the grave and had to wonder about the lack of a forename. "Who even made this? And how come they didn't know his first name?" He wondered aloud. Luffy shrugged and looked back down at it.

"Well, I'm sorry for your loss," He said respectfully, before brightening slightly and gesturing to himself and Zoro.

"Hey, since your owner has passed away, how about you hang with us? We're travellers, and you saved us, so we're really thankful," He beamed. Zoro frowned.

"Luffy, is it really a good idea to have something as large and noticeable as a _reindeer_ travelling with us?" He asked, but Luffy turned those darned huge eyes on him, and his lower lip jutted out in a small, childish pout. "Don't give me that look. It won't work," He said confidently. Luffy just gave him the look harder, an arm snaking around Chopper's back. Zoro stared at him for another moment before letting out an aggravated sigh, running his fingers through his cropped hair. "Fine. Do what you want. He can come."

"Hurrah!" Luffy cheered with a grin, hugging Chopper. "Hear that? We can be friends and travel together!" He crowed, pleased. Chopper stamped his hooves on the ground in what Zoro took as a sign of his own pleasure. Luffy nodded and held up his piggy bank, which he'd attached to a string on his belt before. "Great! And since you're a reindeer, you can help carry things on your back. Like this! It's as important to me as my hat, you know!"

Chopper just gave him a look which said he had no idea what significance either object held. It didn't matter either way because Luffy quickly discovered he had no way of keeping anything balanced on Chopper's back without some sort of satchel to put on him. In that case, they would just have to wait until they reached the village.

Speaking of which, now he wasn't entirely sure where the village was. The little detour with Chopper had thrown off his direction, and how he felt all turned around.

"Damn," He muttered under his breath, looking around. Luffy turned to look at him in confusion.

"What's up?"

"It's nothing, I just…" He shook his head. He wasn't _lost_, he was just having a little navigational trouble. That was understandable, since they were in a forest and everywhere looked the same, damn it. Luffy continued to stare at him, confused. Zoro looked back and shook his head, "I'm not too sure which direction we just came from, that's all. But it shouldn't be too hard to work out, right? After all, we're going to the Eastern Village, so we should be heading east." Luffy nodded slowly. "And East is the way the wind blows," Zoro concluded.

"Oooh, I see!" Luffy remarked with glittering eyes of admiration, turning to face the way the wind blew, his hair whipping around his face at the change. Behind him, Chopper snorted in amusement. Zoro glared at him.

"Got something to say, _blue nose_?" He asked. Chopper sent him a withering glare (who knew reindeers had such expressive faces?) before turning in a direction and clopping his hooves against the ground to get their attention.

"Hm?" Luffy blinked at him. "What's up, Chopper?" A little more stomping and some jerky movements of the head got the reindeer's message across.

"Oh. You want us to follow you, right?" Zoro confirmed. Chopper nodded at him. Zoro had to wonder just how intelligent this creature was (and also what kind of a doctor this Dr. Hiluluk _really_ was), before shrugging. "Alright," He conceded, "But if we get lost, it's your fault, and we're going my way," He said half-seriously, pointing a finger at him. Chopper just shook his head.

"Whatever, let's gooo!" Luffy cheered, marching on ahead even though they'd agreed they'd follow Chopper. Zoro rolled his eyes and grabbed the back of Luffy's collar, gesturing at the reindeer.

"_Following, _remember?" He prompted. Luffy giggled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, right, yes. Woops?"

And with that, they were off, using an animal as a navigator. Zoro tried his best not to let it get to him personally. He'd always known he wasn't the best when it came to sense of direction, but really? A reindeer? On the other hand, the reindeer was an odd one. It seemed to understand them easily, it wore a hat, and had a blue nose. It certainly wasn't a normal creature.

As the trio walked, they noticed that the forest was starting to thin out a little, making it easier to move through. They must have been pretty close to the edge in the first place, considering how large a forest this was. Yet despite that, it had still taken them almost a whole day to get through. The sun had travelled to the other side of the sky and was preparing to set for the day. Hopefully they would be able to settle their sleeping arrangements before nightfall, which might be difficult if they had a reindeer with them.

He was startled by Luffy's sudden cries of "I see it! I see a village!" as he bounced excitedly. Chopper clearly hadn't been expecting it either because he shot almost five feet into the air and looked at Luffy in alarm. Luffy chuckled and patted him on the nose. "Sorry, I was just excited to see the new village, that was all."

"Well, it's good that we're here, but listen up, Luffy." Zoro stopped him and gave him a serious look, a hand on his shoulder so that he'd listen. "No doubt this is one of the villages Baroque works is going to be looking for us in, and there's a large chance they got there before us. " After all, they hadn't been travelling very fast, considering everything that had gotten in the way. "So while we're here, we need to keep a low profile, okay? No bringing attention to ourselves." Luffy nodded slowly to show that he understood and Zoro let go of his shoulder and straightened out. "Good."

"Thanks…" Luffy murmured. Zoro looked down at him. "For doing this. I mean, I dragged you into this by accident, and you know a lot about this whole avoiding people thing." Zoro wasn't sure if that was a jab at him, but he ignored it.

"You've already said that, haven't you? And besides, I told you I'm going this way anyway, so I might as well travel with you for a while, right?" He asked with a small grin.

Luffy beamed and nodded, opening his arms for a big hug, which Zoro promptly rejected.

"Come on, let's go in." He put one hand on Chopper's back and led them into the village, looking around.

It was very wooden and looked rather handmade, giving it a cramped, shabby look. Certainly it was nothing like the small and open Fushia village which was very spacious and empty. Luffy looked around in awe. There were people all over the place, some yelling to the crowd to buy their products, others calling out to their companions, and drunken laughter could be heard issuing from the pubs which had been opened as it turned into evening.

"Okay, great. Now that we're here, we just need to find a place to sleep," Zoro instructed, but Luffy was already running off into the crowd. Zoro sighed and rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "He's a real handful," He said to Chopper, who snorted in what sounded suspiciously like a laugh.


	3. Apprehensive

**A/N – Cheers for the support. Seriously. Three reviews for last chapter. Thank you to Akaiwara and Key (again!), and Khrystaline! You three are my favourites. (Though if anyone else were to review as well, you'd become my favourites too. I like to hear your thoughts. And as a side note: No, there are no devil fruits in this fic. It'll become apparent soon what I've got planned, and for the record; the grand line is not an unconquerable sea, and there is no one piece. Just a hoard of pirates.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 3**

It didn't take long to find an inn and get settled for the night. A single room with one bed was all they could afford if they wanted to rent a stable to keep Chopper in and still have plenty of money for survival, and Luffy had _insisted_. Zoro was learning quickly that sometimes it was difficult to say no to Luffy when he turned his doe eyes towards Zoro. He admitted he had a soft spot for children, and when Luffy pulled a face like that, he sure looked like a child, despite the fact that he was only two years younger than Zoro himself (and, Zoro noted with some amusement, Luffy was practically a midget for his age).

Now that they had sleeping arrangements out of the way (and Zoro had cleaned the dried blood from his arm, which in retrospect, he should have done _before_ he scared the shit out of the inn keeper), they needed to stock up on food and supplies, which was what Zoro was out doing now. He'd left Luffy to keep Chopper company, petting his fur and telling him tales of his past while Chopper would lie down and rest. He must have had a pretty exhausting day.

Zoro wondered through the dusty, dry wooden village, eyeing the tavern and the cheerful yells coming from the open doors. It had been a while since he'd had a drink… It was very dark out now, and the moon and stars shone brightly in the sky. Yet despite that, most of the market stalls were still selling, and many dirty, ragged people were investigating their products. Zoro had noticed that many people looked poor and dirty, just like the village looked like it was piled together by someone who had never even held a hammer in his hand before, let alone use it to nail two planks of wood together.

The smells of different kinds of food assaulted Zoro's nostrils, from the butcher cleaving a pig in half while behind him was a whole hog on a spit roast, to a plump woman baking loaves of bread which had been twisted to look like plaits. The mixture of smells was almost overwhelming, and combined with incense which permeated the streets, Zoro almost felt sick (but for the most part, he was able to ignore it).

"Roses for sale! Sweet red roses!" Cried a bare-footed girl pushing a cart through the street, brandishing blooms of roses with their thorns filed down.

Further along, a man waved from his stall, yelling, "Fresh fish! How about some fresh fish for your dinner tonight, lad?"

"Spices from around the world!"

"Exotic animals to impress your guests!"

"Only 50 Beli for my prized turnips!"

The voices clashed together through the street as each tried to sell their produce more loudly than the others. Zoro tried to ignore their booming speeches as he kept his eyes peeled for anything which would come in handy.

He shoved himself through the throng, poking more than one person with the swords which stuck out at his hip, and managed to get his hands on a couple of leather backpacks in order to store the stuff they would be carrying. From there, he hunted for food which could be stored for a long time. In this village, tins seemed to be an uncommon concept, and most things came in jars which took up a lot of space, were heavier, and were more likely to break. Zoro tried to avoid them as much as possible.

As he sifted through the people, he noticed that the further he went in the direction he was currently headed, the more the crowd thinned out. There were cobbled alley ways and less open market places. Zoro had to wonder if he'd gone the right way, for this certainly didn't look like the main road any more. As much as he hated to admit it, he _did_ tend to be _slightly_ directionally challenged.

There were old, faded wooden signs hanging off the sides of buildings so that people could see what they were selling, and some of the names made Zoro do a double take before hurrying up. One of them, he noticed, read 'Apothecary', and Zoro had to narrow his eyes at that suspiciously. He never trusted anyone who dabbled in so-called "magic". They were dangerous people, and "potions" were never guaranteed to be safe.

He would have gone past the shop if an old lady hadn't stuck her head out of the apothecary's creaky old door and beckoned to him. Zoro wanted to turn her down, but instead, he awkwardly went over, glancing left and right before entering, as though he was about to do something illegal.

Inside the shop was probably stranger than anything he'd ever seen in the past. There was dust everywhere, and it got in his throat, so Zoro had to force down a cough, feeling like the noise would disrupt the quiet atmosphere (as ridiculous as that was). Along the walls and display cases were shelves full of different bottles, ranging in size, shape, and colour. They seemed to be filled with water, most of them, but occasionally there would be one which was oddly coloured, or opaque, or frothing alarmingly.

Above the shelves were lines of candles, which were the only things illuminating the wooden shop, casting an eerie orange glow over everything and creating ominous flickering shadows. It gave Zoro the unnerving impression that there were other people moving about in the room, just out of sight.

"Uh…" He turned towards the woman who had motioned to him who had somehow made her way all the way to the other end of the shop and behind the counter despite the fact that she was hunched over and didn't look like the most agile person.

"Welcome, customer," She said with a creaky voice which matched the rest of the shop perfectly. "What can I do for you?"

"I- Don't know." Weird woman, she was the reason he entered the shop in the first place! Zoro scowled. This place put him on edge. It felt like there was someone watching him at all times, from the shadows. Zoro had to resist the urge to keep glancing over his shoulder, but his hands couldn't stop twitching to his sword.

"Would you like something to help you along in your quest?" She asked. From right next to him. Zoro nearly jumped five feet in the air, and made the shelves he had been inspecting rattle dangerously. Whoever this woman was, she definitely wasn't normal. Of course, running a shop as creepy as this one, she was definitely a witch.

What he probably should have said was "How did you know I was on a 'quest'?" and what he definitely shouldn't have asked, but what slipped out anyway, was "How do I know they'll even work?" (_And_, he added mentally, _how do I know it won't just poison me?_)

The woman smiled mysteriously (then again, she probably didn't know how to smile any other way. This whole thing was mysterious, and Zoro didn't like it). "Ah," She hummed, "You don't. But I do! Because I brewed them. They work, and have done for the past fifty years."

_Oh god, she must be a serial murderer,_ Zoro thought wildly, and begun to back nervously away from her and towards the door. The woman must have noticed his movements, because she reached out and took hold of his elbow. It was a frail touch, but it made him stop in his tracks.

"Come, I will show you some potions you might be interested in," She suggested, and led him to the front of the shop where a line of bottles were waiting. Some were large enough to hold at least 50ml of liquid, while others barely held a mouthful. One had a glass stopper shaped like a skull and contained dark green liquid. Zoro would be avoiding that one, because it was most _definitely _poison.

The woman picked out a slim, tall bottle and handed it to him. Zoro reluctantly took it and peered into the tinted blue glass. "Er, what's in this one?" He asked with trepidation.

"That, my dear, is a transformation potion. For a limited time, it allows you to shift your form. Beware, though, for you must fully understand the molecular structure of the human body, and the effects of the change your body goes through, and how to reverse it without permanent damage." Zoro hastily put the bottle back. Molucu-_what?_ Zoro didn't claim to understand science. He was never taught anything more than the basics. He would be putting himself into danger by using that potion whether it did what the witch claimed it would do or not.

"Not for you, eh? Of course, a muscled young man like yourself…" She muttered under her breath. Zoro scowled and wondered if she knew he could hear her. "I see, I see. And this one, maybe…?" She sent a sly smile his way which sent shivers up his spine. From the row of bottles, she selected an opaque black bottle, which he couldn't see through to the contents of.

"What's this one?" He dared ask, taking it gingerly from her.

"A love potion."

Zoro hastily put the bottle back on the counter. "Like I'd need something like that!" He barked at her. Though in all honesty, he didn't need _any_ of the freaky potions, and he didn't know why he wasn't just turning and leaving.

No, he knew. Something was compelling him to stay. Allure of the shop, or perhaps of the chance that the potions really were real, and really did work. They kept him there, wondering what would happen if he had just a drop of one of them…

"Are you sure?" The woman gave him that same smile before pushing a third one forward. It was the smallest bottle of the lot, and was completely clear. The liquid looked like water, so much that Zoro wondered if it _was_ just water. "Then perhaps this. Though it is considered the most dangerous of all of the ones here." Zoro had to wonder about that. Love potions sounded like dangerous shit.

"…And that is?" He asked hesitantly. The woman grinned, revealing straight, white teeth. Not exactly witchy. They looked like dentures.

"Amnesia potion," The woman said in barely a whisper. Zoro narrowed his eyes. Yes, that sounded dangerous. Forgetting the smallest thing could lead to trouble. You forget to wake up for work at the right time, you could lose your job, for example. Then there are amnesia patients, whose whole lives have been turned around because they couldn't remember who they were. Zoro shuddered at the thought.

"What'll it be?" The woman asked. Zoro looked uneasily at the bottles.

"…How much?" He asked quietly. He couldn't just turn around and march out of the shop. His feet wouldn't let him. Instead, his mouth moved of its own accord while his feet stayed stubbornly in one place.

"A beli per millimetre," She informed him. That meant the small amnesia bottle which was labelled 20ml would be 20 beli. Then the large transformation bottle with 500ml would be very expensive, not that Zoro was inclined to buy that one anyway. His fingertips brushed over an unnamed bottle before travelling over to the amnesia one. He supposed it might come in handy at some point.

So he dug into his pouch and drew 20 beli from its depths and threw the coins on the counter, plucking the amnesia bottle in his thumb and forefinger, and slipped it into his pocket. Maybe he could use it on a Baroque Works agent to throw the organisation off their tail. With that in mind, he shoved the bottle into his pocket and turned abruptly, finding that his feet would work again.

"Thank you and come again," Said the witch, sounding a lot more professional now that she had her money. "…And be well prepared on your journey." And there was the added creepy statement which made Zoro falter in his steps for a moment before he marched right out of the musty shop and into the open air.

He didn't know how late it was, he thought as he glanced at the moon in the sky, walking back down the road he was pretty sure he came up from, but there were less people out now, and he found he could move through the street with ease, which he did while determinedly not looking back. Since it was late, there were more untrustworthy people out, which eyed Zoro with interest until he half drew Shuusui, and they retreated into the shadows of the alley ways to leave him alone.

Wherever their inn was, Zoro had to hurry to it. He was a little worried about leaving Luffy alone for such a long time. Who knew what problems he would get himself into while Zoro wasn't there? He hurried back, doing a mental check of everything he would need, hoping he hadn't forgotten anything. After getting disoriented a couple of times (every street looked the _same_) he finally found the inn and hurried to their shared room to drop off the stuff. Luffy didn't seem to be there, despite having been given his own key, so that must mean he'd either gone and done something stupid, or he was still in the stable.

Heading back down, Zoro found out that, yes, Luffy was still in the stable, sprawled over Chopper and sleeping peacefully, while Chopper was sprawled out over the hay and asleep as well. They must have gotten very tired waiting for Zoro's return. He felt slightly guilty that it was the damned apothecary's fault that he took so long (and not the fact that he accidentally took the _scenic route_ back), and unconsciously fingered the bottle in his pocket. He had to make sure that Luffy never found the bottle somehow, just in case he drank it.

Sighing slightly, Zoro leaned over Luffy and reached out to pick him up, hesitated, and instead grabbed his shoulder, shaking it.

"Oi, get up," He ordered quietly, so as not to disturb Chopper. Luffy didn't budge. "Oi, Luffy, wake up!" He insisted, eliciting a groan from the boy.

"Mn… Zoro?" Luffy asked through a yawn, giving Zoro a perfect view down his wide gob. "What time's it?" He slurred.

"Late. I dunno. We need to go up to our room," Zoro ordered, letting go now that Luffy had woken up. Luffy whined but stood anyway, rubbing sleep from his eyes with a fist.

"I was comfortable here," He complained. Zoro rolled his eyes and ushered Luffy out of the stable.

"I don't care, we have to go up to our room so we can sort some stuff out." Luffy trudged into the inn and up the stairs after Zoro without any more complaint, and they let themselves into the room. Luffy glanced around and spotted the bags of stuff that Zoro had recently bought.

"Wohohoah! Is that our stuff?" He exclaimed excitedly. "Wow, we really look like we're going on an adventure now!" He grinned, bouncing excitedly on the bed. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you're just lucky I know what I'm doing," He pointed out. It wasn't entirely true; Zoro wasn't sure what he was doing, having never ventured out like this before, with purpose. Sure, he'd wondered around neighbouring villages, searching for bounties to make money, but he'd never gone further than that. He was just running on assumptions and common sense, both of which Luffy seemed to lack. It was probably the best thing that could have happened to him, running into Zoro at the start of his journey.

Luffy laughed his strange laugh, shooting Zoro a toothy grin. "Yeah. Thanks, Zoro! You're so good to me!" He said, and Zoro's ears went pink. He scowled harder and shook his head, sitting down on the wooden floor and pulling one of the bags towards him.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen up, we need to plan ourselves a proper route, we can't just keep going like we have been," He directed, "And that's why I got these." He whipped out a couple of sheets of paper and spread them out in front of him. Luffy curiously got off the bed and sat next to him to see what he was doing. "This is a map of East Blue, where we are, and that one there is a map of the grand line, where we're supposed to be going, roughly…" Zoro was pretty sure, at any rate.

"Ooh! Everything has labels!" Was Luffy's astute observation. Zoro snorted.

"Yeah. According to the guy I got this from, we're at this village." He jabbed his finger at an island in the corner of the East Blue map labelled Cocoa Weed. Luffy nodded, staring at the map intently. Zoro continued, "And we need to get…" His finger travelled from one map to the other and hovered over the Grand Line. "Actually, Luffy, that's what I wanted to ask you. Where is your brother supposed to be based right now?"

"Hmmm… I can't remember the name…" Luffy studied the map intently. Zoro narrowed his eyes, not liking the idea of just guessing from island to island in the hopes of stumbling across Ace and the Whitebeard pirates. "Oh! But I do remember that it was the one shaped like Father Christmas!" Luffy laughed and pointed to a roundish island with a lump at the top which _could_ resemble a Christmas hat, and a couple of lopsided knobbly bits at the bottom which _might_ resemble a pair of legs, if one stretched their imagination, located somewhere in the middle of the Grand Line.

"Well, it's no wonder you couldn't remember its name, this island doesn't have a label, which must mean it doesn't _have_ a name," He pointed out.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy chuckled, looking more pleased with himself than he should.

"In any case, we now know our destination, so remember that." Zoro supposed that in his head, he would be forever referring to the island as the "Father Christmas" island. That would be more suitable than not calling it anything, he supposed, but it still irked him (saying the name made him feel too silly).

"Okay!" Luffy sent him a salute, bouncing on his bum. Where he had that extra energy after just being too tired to stand properly, Zoro had no idea. Luffy in general was a mystery to him. "So we just go up the map, right? That's north?"

"…Yeah, I guess." He knew North was Up, so if he were to go Up on a map, that would mean… "Oi, Luffy," He motioned for the other's attention, and when he had it, drew a line from the village they were at, to the top of the map. "If we go North, we'll have to go through the desert to get to Alubarna, which is on the edge of the country of Alabasta, to get to the coast."

"Woah, a desert!" Luffy chirped, "I've never even_ seen_ one, let alone been in one!" He clapped, obviously excited about their upcoming adventure. Zoro rolled his eyes and nodded. Of course, Zoro considered, that was because this island was notorious for each of its villages being secluded from one another. Two countries, thirteen villages, and none of them interact.

"Mmhm, it'll be quite the experience."

"Woohoo, desert! Oh, but that means-!" Luffy interrupted himself and shot back down to the map, pointing at the coast. "To keep going up, we'd have to get a ship, right?"

"Well, considering we want to get to a different _island_, it wouldn't matter whether we went up, down, left, or right, we'd still have to get a boat and leave the island, yes."

"Oh, I see." Luffy bumped his fist into his open palm in an over-exaggerated display of realisation. Zoro resisted the urge to roll his eyes another time – god knew how many times he'd done it in the kid's presence now, not that Luffy ever noticed.

"I made sure we're well prepared with lots of water," Zoro assured. Luffy smiled and nodded.

"So, uh, I guess we're ready for tomorrow."

"Hurrah, desert!" Luffy continued to celebrate, more quietly under Zoro's stern look. Zoro sighed and looked out of the window. Poor Chopper; if Chopper was going to be coming with them on their journey, he'd be much overheated. After all, reindeer weren't built to withstand hot weather. The opposite, in fact; they were supposed to be able to survive in extreme colds. Zoro felt kind of bad, pulling him through temperatures he wouldn't cope well with, but they couldn't just ditch the thing _now_, or Luffy'd be upset, Zoro would admittedly feel bad, and Chopper would be down to not having an owner any more.

"Oi, Luffy," He spoke up suddenly, catching Luffy's attention. "We should sleep now. I said I don't know how late it is any more. We travelled for most of the day, and then I spent some time collecting our supplies, so it must be pretty damn late. We should catch some decent sleep while we can. I don't think we'll do as well out in the desert as we will here."

Luffy nodded in understanding and toed off his sandals, leaving them next to his bag, and wriggled in between the mattress and the sheets. Zoro took that to mean that Luffy was claiming the bed (and Zoro wouldn't have it any other way; he could deal with sleeping on the floor no problem) so he reached over and turned off the old fashioned oil lamp which illuminated the room, plunging them into near darkness, before settling down himself by the wall.

"G'night, Luffy."

There was a long stretch of silence in which Zoro had assumed Luffy had fallen asleep, when the bed covers rustled. Zoro sensed Luffy's eyes on him and looked up, squinting at him in the darkness.

"…What?"

"Is Zoro planning on staying down there all night…?" Luffy asked, blinking those wide doe-eyes from before.

"Er, yeah?" Zoro replied awkwardly, running his fingers through his short hair and shrugging. Luffy's eyebrows arched downwards, and he stared at Zoro with an expression of disappointment for a few seconds. "_What_?" Zoro asked again, more forcefully this time.

"You'll get a bad back if you sleep there, Zoro," Luffy complained.

"And? What do you want me to do about it? You took the only bed." Luffy made an unhappy noise in the back of his throat and scooted towards the wall, before pulling the sheets back and made a beckoning motion with his hand. Zoro raised an sceptical eyebrow and looked between Luffy and the space he made.

After a moment, Luffy elaborated, "…Come get in with me, we can share the bed."

"A-Are you serious? I'm fine here, really," Zoro insisted. Luffy shook his head and sighed. "_WHAT?_" Zoro asked again, a vein pulsing in his forehead in his frustration. _This kid sure is persistent!_

"Zoro, sleep here. I don't want to feel bad being the only person to sleep somewhere comfortable for the night." And then there were those damned doe-eyes again, gazing at him and looking very upset. Zoro hated those eyes.

"Why do you care so much?" He finally asked. Luffy blinked in surprise before giggling, muffling the noise behind a hand.

"Because you're my friend! You ask too many questions, you should just get in and be all snug and warm; you won't be any of those things if you stay down there!"

That was the bottom line, Zoro supposed, as he stood and drew his swords from his belt, leaning them against the wall by the bed, then toed off his boots and left them near his own bag, imitating Luffy's earlier action. Luffy had a smug smile on his face when Zoro turned back to him, climbing into the bed next to him. Zoro sighed and pulled the bed sheet over him. The bed creaked slightly with the added weight, and Zoro noticed that the sheets barely covered both him and Luffy. It was a very _thin_ single after all, definitely not made to contain more than one person.

When it became apparent that if he didn't do something, he could potentially fall off the edge of the bed, Zoro reached out a tentative arm and wrapped it around Luffy, pulling him close and shifting so that they were as in the middle as possible. Immediately upon contact, Luffy seemed to take it as his cue to snuggle up to Zoro and bury his face in the taller man's chest. Zoro stared down at him momentarily, not sure of what to make of it.

Cautiously, he raised his other hand and ruffled the kid's hair, earning a happy hum from him before Luffy finally dropped to sleep and Zoro relaxed slightly.

Why was this kid so damn cute? He sighed quietly to himself, shutting his eyes and waiting to fall into the abyss of sleep himself, but his brain had other ideas, instead showing him memories of all the other times Luffy had acted cute (Not that Zoro should even _think _of him as cute, because he doubted Luffy would appreciate it). Zoro did his best to ignore it, and ignore the billow of warm air he got on his neck whenever Luffy breathed out, or the way he seemed just small enough to fit snugly in Zoro's arms.

Stupid. It was stupid, what Zoro's mind was coming up with, so he instead thought of the journey that awaited them in the desert, and hoped that they wouldn't get lost and ended up wondering through endless sand dunes until they shrivelled up and died.

With those grim thoughts in mind, Zoro finally went to sleep.

**TBC**

**(P.S. Did you catch my little tiny _Oliver!_ reference?)**


	4. Tired

**A/N - Oh boy wow look at all those _three_ reviews I got last chapter. Thank you Key, Akaiwara, and thelovely guest Just Some Person. I love you guys. I hope to hear from you again. (And from you other readers, of course. You know how it is). By the way, has anyone ever had sun burn? I have. That's what happens when a British person goes to Spain for the summer.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 4**

In the morning, Luffy woke when the sunlight on his face became too bright to bear and he had to move to shield his eyes. When he did, he realised that he was tucked rather comfortably on top of Zoro's chest, as Zoro had shifted onto his back at some point in the night, and Luffy, being wrapped up in Zoro's arms, had moved with him. Luffy had wrapped both of his legs around one of Zoro's and loosely wrapped his arms around Zoro's chest. It was very warm and comfortable there. He liked it.

He found it funny, while watching Zoro sleep, that the man's frown hadn't softened, as though even his dreams annoyed him. Luffy rubbed a thumb over Zoro's creased forehead and immediately, the man's eyes shot open, startling Luffy. His hand let go of Luffy's waist and shot up to grab his wrist instead, glaring at him while he got his bearings.

Once he realised it was Luffy, he blinked and slowly let go of the wrist, rubbing a hand over his face. "…What the hell are you doing?"

"You frown too much, Zoro," Luffy scolded, "You should at least relax while you sleep!"

"Sleep is where you are most vulnerable, and you shouldn't let your guard down during it," Zoro countered, but despite himself, let his face relax into a more easy going expression.

"Hmm… Is that so…" Luffy said disinterestedly, rolling off Zoro and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I didn't bring any changes of clothes," He briefly lamented. "My mum always told me to change my underpants every day, but I don't have any."

"Nothing I can do about it," Zoro grunted as he too sat up, rubbing a hand over his face and sighing. Luffy clapped his bare feet together while he thought, before hopping up excitedly.

"Oh! I have a good idea!" He started to undo the button on his shorts.

"O-Oi, oi!" Zoro said hastily. "What are you doing?"

"If I have to change them, but I don't have any underwear to change them with, I just won't wear any, then I don't have to worry about it!" Luffy declared. Zoro clapped a hand over his eyes.

"I don't think it works that way…" He muttered, but let Luffy do whatever he wanted. It wasn't his problem if Luffy wanted to put up with scratchy denim in sensitive areas.

"Okay, done!" Luffy chirped after a couple of seconds, and Zoro removed his hand, shaking his head in bemusement, before standing and pulling on his boots, then grabbing his swords to slide them into his belt safely.

"You remember the plan?" He asked. Luffy nodded.

"Go into the desert, come out of the desert, get a boat, go up," He recited. Zoro nodded.

"Good." And it was, kind of. It had the basic important information in there, at least. He went to his bag and pulled out a couple of pull-overs. "Since we're heading into the desert, we need to cover up… I'm sorry, but I couldn't find anything that covered your legs. Maybe if we'd had more time…"

"It's okay, I'll manage somehow!" Luffy waved a carefree hand, smiling. Zoro sighed and tossed one to him, then pulled on his own and flipped up the hood. Luffy copied, stretching his hood to go over the wide rim of his hat. "Do we have something for chopper too?" He asked brightly. Zoro nodded, brandishing a third, which looked more like a blanket than anything.

"Right, well, we seem to be all set." And they were, so after a breakfast which Luffy adamantly insisted on ("We can't stay for any longer, the organisation'll find us!" "I don't care, meals are important!"), they set out with Chopper, their luggage distributed between the three of them.

The walk through the dusty village during the morning was a lot easier since only the shop keepers were up and most people were still in their beds, dreaming. It was convenient for them because Zoro doubted they'd be able to squeeze a reindeer through crowds like the one he'd seen yesterday without difficulty. As it was, they made it past the village border, and just half a mile beyond that was the start of a desert.

"We're here!" Luffy cheered.

"Don't act so happy, this is going to be a lot worse than travelling through a forest you know," Zoro snorted. Chopper stomped his hooves nervously, staring out at the boiling desolateness before striding forward.

"…How do we know we're going North?" Luffy asked. Zoro hummed in thought before pulling something out of Chopper's carrier bag.

"I asked the guy I got the map from the same thing, and he said to take this." He brandished a compass at Luffy who took it from him and held it up, fascinated by the occasionally wiggling needle inside.

"How does it work?"

"Dunno," Zoro shrugged, "I was just going to go forward and hope we didn't turn by accident or something."

Luffy looked back down at the compass and hummed in thought, stroking his chin. After a moment, he snapped his fingers, grinning. "I know!" He shook the compass wildly then held it flat in his palm. The needle spun round and round on its axis. "Show me which way is North!" He demanded it. After a little wobbling, the compass slowed to a stop, pointing almost directly in front of them. Luffy turned a bright smile on Zoro, who snorted.

"Whatever. So we just follow the arrow?"

"Yeah!"

Zoro shook his head in amusement. It was pointing in what was probably the right direction anyway, so they might as well for a while. With that in mind, they set off, into the scorching sun, with only their pull-overs for protection. After a while of walking, Zoro remembered something the man he got the compass from told him.

"Oi, Luffy." Luffy gave a noise to show he was listening, "I should warn you about the desert. There are a lot of dangers out here, okay? There are things called Desert Kings—"

"Desert Kings? Are they like Sea Kings? We have a local Sea King near our village, he's called the King of the Coast."

"Yeah, like that," Zoro confirmed with a nod, "except they burrow underground and you can't really see when they're coming. And I guess they're more worm-like and scorpion-like than Sea Kings," He explained. Luffy looked around in awe, expecting to see one pop up out of nowhere.

"That's so cool! Hey, hey, can we eat them?!" He asked excitedly. Zoro shrugged.

"Probably. Everything that moves is edible, as long as you cook it, right?"

From behind them, Chopper snorted nervously. Zoro sent an apology wave over his shoulder, and they lapsed into silence as they continued on It didn't last for very long, when Luffy started to complain about feeling hungry, clutching his stomach and looking very pitiful. Zoro sighed and glanced upwards at the sun.

"Well, it seems to be well past midday by now, I guess it's about time we had some lunch…" He decided, and took a seat under the shade of a particularly large sand dune, joined by an excited Luffy and a worn out Chopper. Zoro divided up small portions of food for each of them, and they ate, though Luffy complained afterwards that he was still hungry. Zoro doubted he understood the point of rationing.

As they travelled through the day and got more and more sluggish until night time, they set up a tent for the night to camp in, though Chopper was happy enough to lie out on the cooled sand, and ate their dinners in a similar manner to their lunches, including Luffy's whining about his stomach. Zoro was starting to get annoyed.

Sleep came easily after their long travel, except it was too cold to stand alone. Zoro hadn't packed any blankets so what they were wearing was what they slept in. When he was lying in the tent, using his backpack as a pillow, Luffy had rolled over to him and looked at him with imploring eyes.

"I'm cold…" He whined, and it made a change from hearing him complain about how his stomach was being neglected. Zoro obliged by wrapping an arm around him and letting him snuggle up to his side. He had to admit, it kept him warm as well, so he appreciated it.

The second day was tougher than the first, because they weren't as well rested as they had been when the first set out into the desert. Zoro had to wonder how long it would be before his temper exploded, and he prided himself in how well he could keep his emotions in check.

"Ah… I'm thirsty. Can't we have some more water?" Luffy pleaded, sticking his tongue out to demonstrate how dry and in need of water it was. Zoro sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry, Luffy, but we need to be saving the water up so that it'll last us the whole journey," He explained, to much protest.

"Ah… This sucks. I wish I could fly…" Luffy sighed wistfully. Zoro raised an eyebrow at him.

"Fly? What good would that do? You'd still get tired and thirsty."

Luffy shook his head adamantly. "No, Zoro, you don't get it!"

"Evidently not," Was his dry response.

When they stopped for food, Luffy barely took five minutes to scoff down his share, but Chopper took a long time, as though he'd lost the energy to eat fast, and they spent half an hour longer than Zoro had intended eating their lunch. Chopper also walked slower when they started up again.

"…I'm sorry we dragged you into this, Chopper," Mumbled Luffy after a long period of silence interrupted only by Luffy's bored humming. Chopper blinked up at him hazily and shook his head. Zoro marvelled, again, at how well he could understand and communicate with humans. Whoever this Dr. Hiluluk person was, he must have been a clever man. Zoro smiled briefly at the two who seemed to get along so well.

"…How about we stop a little early for the night this time, eh?" He suggested to cut Chopper some slack. The suggestion was met with enthusiasm.

When Luffy had thrown down the entirety of his dinner and lain on his back to proceed with the inevitable moaning, Zoro hesitated. He felt bad, though he knew he probably shouldn't, that Luffy was so hungry. He wasn't as used to restraining himself or starving himself like Zoro did. So, instead of eating his dinner, he held it out to Luffy.

"Here," He grinned, "I suppose I _have _been making our rations a little small." Luffy's response was immediate, as he leapt up and grabbed the food presented to him, eating it happily.

"Ahh, so much better!" He beamed and turned to Zoro, hugging him. "Thanks, Zoro!"

"Hah, don't mention it," Zoro smiled back. He heard Chopper snort at him and glanced at the reindeer, whose eyes were narrowed. In a lower voice, Zoro added, "Don't _you_ mention it, either." Chopper snorted again, disturbing the cool sand by his nose.

Zoro grimaced when he was covered in a small wave of sand. It wasn't any different from when the winds picked up, but combined with the sweat caused by the heat, the sand kept sticking to him unpleasantly. Luffy didn't seem as bothered by it as Zoro was, but the older man found it rough and unpleasant against his skin, and a harsh reminder of the path they chose to take.

No, they didn't choose the path. This was really the only available option, unless they went in a different direction and travelled around the island. No, this was the quickest way, and the way they were least likely to be followed by Baroque Works (he hoped). He just hoped they'd make it to the other side alive. He packed a lot of rations and water, but he wasn't sure just how large this desert was. He couldn't tell from the map at all.

That night, Luffy did the same thing as the last one, latching onto Zoro's side. At first, Zoro had assumed it was purely for warmth, but now he wasn't so sure. Looking over Luffy, he seemed to cling more than necessary. He'd been through a lot, after all, Zoro considered. Perhaps he needed a little human contact. With that thought in mind, he reached up and ran his fingers through Luffy's hair, and received a contented sigh in return.

"Luffy…" He murmured, and got a sleepy whine back. "You're more worried than you let on, aren't you?" He paused, and received no response from the sleeping boy. "You know it's all going to be okay, right?" He wanted it to be okay. He wanted this kid to make it out of this ordeal alive. He wasn't sure why; he didn't know Luffy very well, and he hadn't done many remarkable things to make Zoro like him, but he did anyway.

"Zoro…" Came a light murmur. Zoro nearly jumped in surprise.

"Luffy," He whispered. "You awake?"

"Mmm…" He felt a nod against his chest. Sighing, he ran his fingers through the boy's hair again, and felt the arms around him tighten.

"We'll get through this easily enough," Zoro assured. "I'm a swordsman, I'll cut down anyone who comes at us. And we've got a reindeer. We're practically invincible!" He heard a muffled chuckle from his chest and grinned. He liked Luffy during the night; he was a lot easier to get along with, since he would calm down.

Soon, soft snores started emanating from Luffy, assuring Zoro that he really was asleep this time. Smiling softly, he shut his own eyes and settled down to sleep as well. It was important to get as much sleep as possible so that they'd be energised for their journey.

When the next morning rolled around, Luffy was already awake when Zoro woke up. He was gingerly touching his legs and wincing. He'd not noticed last night, but his legs had gotten badly sunburnt. They were sensitive and even moving them was painful. He didn't know how he was going to walk other than just gritting his teeth and getting on with it.

"Oi…" Zoro muttered tiredly, rolling over. "You okay— Whoa, shit!" He sat up when he caught sight of the red raw legs from the knees down. Luffy was prodding the spots which hurt worse and trying to pick off flakes of dead skin and making distressed noises whenever tugging on them hurt too much. "Shit, this is my fault…" He muttered. "I was too underprepared for this, I thought it'd be okay, but I don't know anything about sunburn…" Come to think of it, Luffy's legs looked red yesterday, he just hadn't realised.

Luffy grimaced before stretching his legs out and grinning at Zoro. "It's not your fault!" He insisted, "It's mine because I didn't say anything before we left, like to get pants or something." Zoro frowned, not agreeing with him at all.

"All the same, I don't have anything to treat sun burn, and we're supposed to be going back out in the sun…" He bit down on the inside of his cheek in agitation, glancing out of the tent to where Chopper was curled in the shade of a rock.

"Maybe…" He said hesitantly, "Maybe you won't have to walk on them if Chopper can handle carrying you…" But Chopper didn't look so good either. He was panting quietly and Zoro could tell that he wasn't taking the heat well at all. Zoro told Luffy to sit in the corner to make space, before pulling the tent flap back and leaning out to get a hold of Chopper and heave him into the shade of the tent.

Luffy shuffled into the corner carefully before returning his attention to his legs. "Man, this kind of sucks…" He mumbled, wriggling his toes. His sandals had left a strip of white across his red feet which annoyed Luffy. He was feeling a lot more irritable than he normally did and it he wasn't accustomed to it.

Zoro spared Luffy a glance. No matter what Luffy told him, Zoro still felt guilty. He was seriously doubting the fact that this was the best way to go after all. As far as he knew, it was a race against an organisation, not against time, they could have gone a longer way. Now it was his fault that Luffy and Chopper were suffering.

He stroked Chopper's furry neck before making a decision. He pulled out his bottled water, the water he was going to use for that day, and splashed some of it over Chopper's body, rubbing it over his fur and (hopefully) cooling him down, then he gave the rest to Chopper to drink, along with a little of Chopper's share.

Luffy watched silently as Chopper slowly seemed to perk up. The reindeer nudged Zoro with his muzzle to show his gratitude. Zoro patted it gently.

"I know this is a lot to ask, but since Luffy's legs are all sunburnt, could you carry him? I'll take both of your luggage so you're not burdened with extra weight," He asked. Chopper looked over at Luffy and leaned close to his legs, inspecting them. Right after that, he took off, out of the tent.

"Hey— _Wait_, where are you going?!" Zoro yelled out, watching as Chopper ran in a zig-zag back the way they came.

"Ch-Chopper?!" Luffy exclaimed, crawling over to the opening and sticking his head out of the tent to watch.

"What happened? Did he get spooked?" Zoro looked over at Luffy, who shrugged.

"I'm not sure. He took one look at my legs and just took off."

Zoro didn't know whether to go after him or not. After all, he had no right to drag Chopper on the journey, but the reindeer _had_ been dragged out here because of him so he was now Zoro's responsibility. With that in mind, he was about to dash out of the tent after Chopper, when the small silhouette in the distance turned back and started growing larger as Chopper slowly came back. Zoro watched as the reindeer came closer and he could see something clamped in his jaw.

"What? He came back?" Luffy asked, and broke out into a smile. "I knew he hadn't left!" He beamed, then moved backwards as Chopper tried to enter the tent again, putting down the object in his mouth and looking at Luffy expectantly. "Eh? Is that a cactus?"

Zoro shrugged, picking one of the plant's limbs up. "I think I've seen this before." Something leaked out of the end where the limb had been snapped off and ran down Zoro's wrist. He put the plant down hastily and wiped at the liquid dripping down his arm. He held his hand to his face curiously for a moment, then wrinkled his nose. "I recognise this smell. It's kind of hard to tell, but this is that…Aloe…stuff," He said hesitantly.

"Aloe stuff?" Luffy asked as Chopper picked up the plant which Zoro had dropped in his mouth, and let the juice dribble down Luffy's legs. He watched curiously as Chopper made sure to get the entire surface area of his sunburn covered.

"Yeah, you know…" Zoro tried to explain with a wave of his hands. "It's supposed to help with treatments and stuff… Is Chopper smarter than we thought?" He ran his fingers through Chopper's fur. "He seemed to know what he was doing…"

"Haha! He's a mysterious reindeer!" Luffy beamed, petting Chopper. "He's so nice to me too," He said as he snuggled Chopper's furry neck.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed offhandedly as he peered out of the tent. "It's gotten quite late in the day, I reckon it's past morning now. Instead of heading off, how about we have some lunch first?" He asked. Luffy cheered and waited expectantly for his food, chanting "Lunch! Lunch!" all the while. Zoro rolled his eyes and dug into the bag with the food. He hesitated, glancing between Luffy's sunburnt legs and Chopper, who seemed to be tired from his little excavation, and made a choice to divide his own food up between them. He'd eat later.

Once more, they were off, this time with Zoro carrying three bags, and Chopper carrying Luffy, whose legs still hurt despite the aloe stuff they'd put on them earlier. Hopefully the sun wouldn't do worse damage to them while they travelled. That was why they needed to hurry up. Zoro was getting frustrated with worrying about their rations. It would be easier if a Desert King would just burst from the sand so that he could chop it up and they would have plenty of meat to eat. But so far, nothing had moved apart from the sand blown about by the desert breeze.

As they continued to travel on, day after day, the food supply went down, but Zoro still divided and gave away his food shares, eating only occasionally. After all, he was sure he'd be fine, while he wanted Luffy and Chopper to be well fed and energised for their trip, and they didn't have his endurance.

At some point, they tried travelling evenings and nights instead of during the day, because it was safer for their skin, and Chopper much preferred the cold. However, they quickly discovered that sleeping in the muggy heat was impossible, and reluctantly had to go back to travelling during the day. Chopper's fatigue was getting the better of him, too, because one day when they'd been walking nonstop for hours, he suddenly collapsed.

Luffy, who was riding on his back at the time, squawked in surprise, falling on the sand. Zoro hurried over to see if he was okay. When he was sure that the poor reindeer wasn't, he sighed and hefted him onto his shoulder, and carried him for the day like that. Luffy was content to walk for a while, since there was no alternative, and he certainly wasn't going to make Chopper carry him some more, but his legs were starting to blister. Zoro continued to cover it in 'Aloe-stuff' and even offered to give his pull-over to Luffy to wear as a skirt, but Luffy turned it down, saying it would be worse if Zoro's arms got burnt, because he needed those in case he was forced to use his swords for something. Zoro conceded that he had a point.

He also noticed that his own fatigue had hit him hard, when he nearly dropped Chopper as his balance was off. Luckily, he managed to avoid that outcome, but gritted his teeth and bore through it, telling himself that maybe he should eat a full portion that dinner time. Luffy could also tell that something was up, though he didn't know what. Zoro had succeeded in hiding the fact that he'd been eating less, somehow, though it hadn't escaped Chopper's notice. He was sure the reindeer wanted to ram him into submission, and probably would have if it wasn't for his heatstroke.

Zoro himself was feeling rather overheated and ready to collapse. He'd completely fucked up the water supply by not stocking enough. He should have dedicated a whole bag to water! But that was a ridiculous thought, since each bag held important things like food and the maps and the tent and tools to start a fire with. They continued to follow the arrow on the compass, and as far as they knew, they were going the right way.

On the evening of the eighth day, Luffy had decided to sleep outside under the stars, and Zoro, though he wouldn't admit it out loud, felt lonely by himself inside the tent, so he joined him. While they gazed at the random scattering of dots across the dark sky, Luffy spoke.

"Hey…" He looked over at Zoro, who hummed in response, looking back. "I was just thinking…" He went on, smiling, "that this is the tenth night we've spent together."

"Well done, you can count," Zoro said dryly. The tiredness had had a negative effect on his mood, and recently he'd been more snappish and sarcastic than normal. Luffy didn't seem at all bothered by it, though. Instead he laughed.

"Yeah! But that's cool, because I feel like I've gotten to know you in that time," He explained with a small grin. Zoro raised an eyebrow at him. Luffy laughed through his teeth in that unique way of his. "But you know what? Ten is a very good number. It's even, and it's round, and it's the first double-digit number there is."

"…What's your point?" Zoro asked, and his brain decided to point to him that technically, the numbers before ten could be "00", "01!", "02", and so on, but he told it that now wasn't the time.

"I feel like tomorrow, the tenth day, is gonna be a good one. I have a hunch is all," Luffy explained. Zoro didn't understand, and he felt too tired to understand, so he pillowed his arms behind his head and readied himself to go to sleep. As usual, he felt Luffy snuggle up to his side to get warm. "Yeah, just you wait. Something's going to happen… Something special. Important." He murmured. Zoro nodded, going with whatever Luffy was rambling about. "And something else?"

"Mm, go to sleep, Luffy."

"Wait! Just, I wanted to say that I like travelling with you and Chopper. Despite the heat and the hurting legs and the lack of food and water, I've been having a lot of fun. And if I could do it for the rest of time, maybe I would want to…" He finished, his voice becoming fainter as he drifted off. Zoro didn't say anything, but he felt his ears burn with embarrassment. Zoro wondered what it was about night-times which made Luffy come out with this disconcerting sentimental stuff.

From his left, Chopper snorted in amusement, and he shot the reindeer a look to tell him to shut up and go to sleep before he _made_ him shut up.

With that, the other two companions fell into their own slumber, to ready themselves for the "important" day to come, as Luffy put it.

**TBC**

**P.S. I'm sorry if this chapter is less interesting. Next one is gonna be doubly as interesting as this and the last one put together, woo!**


	5. Relieved

**A/N - I lied, this chapter is only more exciting than last chapter. Why? Because we introduce TWO CHARACTERS AT ONCE. Hurrah! (Which one do you think is going to join them?) At least I remember that _next_ chapter is definitely exciting. And the chapter after that is...actually kinda alarming. ****Thank you to Key, Just Some Person, and Akaiwara, for your fabulous reviews. You guys are fabulous.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 5**

The next day started out rather like the other seven did, the trio found. Luffy continued to insist, exhaustedly, that something was going to happen that day. Zoro didn't wait for anything with baited breath, though. While it would be nice to reach the other side of the desert, getting his hopes up would be too much. Luffy kept up his determined positivity while the day went on and the sunset drew closer. Zoro was amazed at his resolve and how it seemed to give him renewed energy.

Just when the sun was right in front of them (didn't the sun set in the West? But weren't they supposed to be going North?) it was almost too blinding to keep going, but instead of stopping, Luffy seemed to speed up, his whole demeanour changing.

"Do you see that?!" He exclaimed excitedly. Zoro wasn't sure what he was pointing at.

"See what?" He asked tiredly. Chopper, who was being carried over Zoro's arm, grunted in confusion.

"The building!"

"…Building? What building?" Zoro squinted at where Luffy was wildly waving his pointed finger in excitement. He couldn't see anything because it was too bright and he was sure that if he kept this up, his eyes would burn right out of their sockets.

"There, in the distance!"

"It's probably just a mirage, Luffy." That, or Luffy was kidding himself now. Still, there was this strange feeling akin to optimism bubbling up from deep down inside him.

"It's not a mirage!" Luffy insisted. "I mean- I don't really know what a mirage is, but whatever it is… This thing is real! There really is a building there!" Zoro turned and tried again to look over the horizon. Indeed, now that he paid attention, he could see the silhouette of something large in the distance. Or was it small and close up? His heat addled brain was getting confused, but at least it seemed like there was definitely something there.

"Wait… I _do_ see something…" He sped up slightly. Luffy bounced, grinning excitedly. "You see?! I told you, didn't I?" He too sped up, panting hard. He couldn't take any more of this, so if this building turned out to be _not_ a building after all, he felt like he'd burst into tears (and him crying was not a common occurrence).

As they got closer, the thing grew, and the light bounced off what must be windows. It had something written on the side, but from where they were coming from with it blocking the light, they couldn't read what it said. Luffy's knees gave out on him at some point, but he pulled himself back up with determination, and resumed his quick pace.

"It's definitely a building…" Zoro murmured.

"You see it too!"

"Yeah. I do…"

"Look, it's a restaurant!" Luffy pointed out. "It says so!" And it did. The big letters they saw first spelt out the word 'Restaurant', and the word below it was 'BARATIE'. But if it was a restaurant, what was it doing out here?

"It _is_ a restaurant…is this a mirage?" Zoro asked quietly. "We both see it, right?"

"Yeah, we see it!" Luffy replied with a grin.

"It's really there!" Zoro grinned back and went as fast as his legs could go. He felt the effects of not having eaten as much as he should the past week, and his body was slower than usual. He inwardly sneered at his weakness, thinking that he should have been able to endure a little over a week with less food, but out in the desert it became too much for him.

He felt Luffy's fingers wrap around his, and the touch burned, but it was very much welcome. It was like they were pulling each other along now, trying to speed themselves up. _Food! _His stomach screamed, _It's a restaurant! You can eat! _Luffy seemed to be having the same internal exclamation, since he was practically drooling at the thought (which made a change from too-dry mouths).

As they reached the strangely out of the way restaurant, the doors were just being pulled closed to lock up for the night, which Zoro would not stand for. He would bust down the door to get in if he had to.

As Nami cleared up the plates from the recently vacated tables, Sanji was checking to make sure every customer had left on their travelling crabs safely (since sometimes the little buggers would escape their reins and flee) before locking the back door and heading to the kitchen to make sure things there were being cleaned up, light a satisfying cigarette as he did so. It felt good to be Assistant Head Chef and not have to do any of the tidying, since he did the tough cooking, and waited tables, because his precious Nami Darling couldn't be left to do them herself.

Speaking of Dearest Nami, Sanji bounced into the main restaurant, twirling towards the sweetest girl in the world with a happy cry of "_Nami Swaaaan!_" which made her look around, but she'd gotten so used to it now that it didn't make her jump.

"Ah, Sanji. Good timing, table 3 has been left in a really terrible mess, and I don't want to get my front dirty trying to clean it up," She pouted. _Ahh, the Goddess has spoken!_ Sanji thought as he nodded in agreement. Sure, waitresses weren't meant to be able to order around Assistant Head Chefs, but the stunning Nami had to get whatever she wanted, and Sanji was the man who would make her happy!

"Certainly, I'll take care of it, Nami lovely, but let me just quickly lock up the front! Then I'll get right on it!" He called, pulling the keys out of his pocket and twirling them, heading to the door.

"Thank you!" Nami sung over her shoulder and Sanji nearly melted onto the floor along the way (which wouldn't be that incredible a feat out here in the hot desert).

Just as he had made his way to the door, he flipped the sign from 'Open' to 'Closed', and glanced up to look out at the sky which had turned into a blotchy purpleish-blue. As he did, though, something caught his eye. Blinking, he looked straight ahead as two figures approached. He thought about turning them away and telling them that the restaurant was closed, but when you were out in the desert, you generally weren't there to see if a restaurant was open by chance.

As they got closer, he backed away from the door and stood to a side, watching silently. Nami, who had realised that he was taking a while, turned to see what was up.

"Sanji?"

"Ah…" He looked at her, "Nami Swan, there are a few people outside." Right after he'd said that, a boy with black hair sticking out from under a straw hat burst through the door and collapsed onto the rough patterned rug. Right after him stumbled in a guy with shockingly green hair under a hood which had been blown back slightly, who carried a deer over one arm. Sanji had to do a double take to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him (they certainly _weren't_).

Nami ran up to his side just as the green haired man followed the black haired boy's example and crashed to the ground, the reindeer scrabbling off his shoulder as he did, making Sanji and Nami jump, who had assumed the animal was dead. Now that they got a good look at it, they saw that it held a bag and was wearing a puffy blue hat.

"…Oi!" Nami yelled, pointing at the boy. "Look at his legs! They're terrible!" Sanji did and his jaw fell open, dropping the cigarette to the ground.

"Shit…That looks bad. How long have they been out in the sun?!" He exclaimed, dashing over to inspect them closer. "It takes six days to come here directly from Cocoa Weed, seven days from Cocoyashi Village, and four days directly from Alubarna…" Sanji recited. "And those are all the places closest to the restaurant; I don't think they'd have come from any other points." And in that time, he knew that if you didn't cover up, you'd end up with terrible burns like this one.

From the side-lines, the deer (it looked like a reindeer, but that made little sense) was jumping and stamping his hooves near the two figures, looking close to panicking at the state they were in. Nami hurried around to where the boy was and hefted him up.

"I can carry this one," She said, then her smile turned sweet. "Since I don't want to give up _my_ bed, do you mind if we put him in yours?"

"Of _course_, my lady!" Sanji nodded enthusiastically. Nami's smile widened and she stood.

"Good. I'll go put him there. Can you get the other one? I'll find a futon to put him on and he can sleep on the floor next to the bed."

"Understood!" Sanji cried. He didn't know where he would sleep if there were two strangers taking up all the space in his room, but if it was what the wonderful Nami wanted, then who was he to deny her?

"I'm glad, now come on. We'll work out what to do with that," She jerked her head at the reindeer (it was a reindeer, right?) "later."

Sanji nodded agreement and hefted the guy with the weird grass-head up and over his shoulder. This man was ridiculously toned and made Sanji's muscles look stringy and weak in comparison, though Sanji knew that wasn't the case. All the training Old Man Zeff went through with him made sure of that. All the same, he couldn't ignore the buzz of irritation when he looked at the stupidly swollen muscles on the guy.

As they headed to the back of the restaurant with a traveller in each of their arms, the reindeer followed close on their heels, breathing uncomfortably hot air down their necks. Nami grimaced and sped up until they reached Sanji's room. She laid the boy down on the bed and Sanji unceremoniously dumped the mossy boulder of a man on the floor.

"Okay, let's take a look at this…" Sanji muttered, turning his full attention on the boy's legs. "Shit, he's been through the mills, huh. This looks like days' worth of damage."

"He's lucky he's not too pale. He looks like he doesn't burn easily, but once you've been in a desert, it doesn't matter how dark you are; everyone burns," Nami agreed. "Ugh, look, he's got blisters. That's gotta be painful. How did he even walk on those things?"

"I'll drain the blisters and after we put something on the legs to heal them, we'll wrap them in bandages. That'll stop the blisters from getting infected," Sanji said, turning to get the first aid kit from the bathroom. The reindeer trotted over to Luffy and stared at him for a moment before seeming to sigh and lie down next to the man on the floor.

"You're a cutie, huh," Nami murmured while she waited for Sanji's return, kneeling down and holding out her hand to the reindeer in a friendly gesture. He stuck its nose into her hand, snorting slightly, and she giggled and scratched under his chin. What a friendly creature. She stood up again and went over to the cupboard, rummaging around the storage at the top until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a futon and unrolled it, laying it down on the only available floor space left, then looked over at the man. "Okay… How about you help me roll this guy onto that so he doesn't feel cramped when he wakes up?" She suggested. The reindeer popped up again and eagerly started to move the man. Nami smiled at his enthusiasm despite his obvious tiredness.

"Nami, my sweet, I brought it!" Came the hushed voice of Sanji from the doorway. Nami looked up in the middle of moving the man and smiled.

"Excellent. You take care of him, then. I don't want to…" She shuddered, thinking of the flaking skin and the blisters and the puss, and how she definitely didn't want to deal with that. Sanji nodded, turning his back to her before letting his cringe show. _He_ didn't want to deal with it either, but he would be a man and deal with it. After all, they chose to take the two men in, so now they were their responsibility.

Using a needle to drain the blisters was easy, then mopping them up and disinfecting each of them was even easier. Not once, Sanji had noticed during the procedure, did the boy he was treating flinch or groan. He wondered, was it because the boy was just so out of it he wouldn't react to anything? Or was it because he was strong, and could handle pain like that? Sanji snorted at the idea, rejecting it immediately. The kid was scrawny, maybe fifteen years old, and didn't look like much of a fighter. Maybe it was wrong for Sanji to judge a book by his cover, but until he woke up, that was all Sanji could do.

Once the boy's legs and been bandaged (and Sanji had tried to remove his shorts to make it easier, only to discover that there was nothing underneath, so he left them there for his own sake as well as his precious Nami Swan's sweet, innocent eyes), and the muscle-man had been properly laid down on the futon, Sanji announced that he was going to make them food.

He would have done so anyway, but he was spurred on when, during the first aid process, the boy's stomach groaned a total of three times. Sanji hated that noise, considering hunger to be the bane of his very existence. The thought of somebody going hungry made him feel perhaps a tad _irrationally_ frustrated. Because of that, and the fact that they didn't have much food on them, Sanji decided that he was going to lavish them with a feast when they woke up.

Well, he _would _have, if not for the fact that he had been interrupted by the shitty old man, who had given him a kick in the head with his painfully hard wooden leg and told him to be reasonable and prepare a normal amount for two people and a reindeer. Sanji sighed in defeat and had to refrain from using too much of their food supplies. He also wasn't one hundred percent sure what reindeer ate, but vegetables would do, right? And he didn't need to cook them, so they'd retain all of their vitamins and be very healthy for it.

He'd worked out just which foods would be the most beneficial and filling for the travellers, when Nami came into the kitchen hurriedly. Sanji looked up in surprise.

"What's up, Nami Swan?" He asked in surprise.

"One of them came to," She explained. "I thought I'd tell you and get some water for him because he sounded thirsty."

"In that case, fill up a bottle and bring that to him," Sanji suggested. Nami nodded and did just that while Sanji busied himself with getting the dinner ready as soon as possible.

Back in the bedroom, Zoro was just sitting up, rubbing his head in confusion. Once he'd gotten to the restaurant, he remembered seeing a man with blond hair, but he couldn't remember many of the details, and then it was like his legs just gave up on him. He was extremely hungry, too. Maybe that was why he collapsed so soon, because he refused to believe that heat could conquer him that easily. Since he'd been sharing out his food, he _had_ been eating less, but he always made sure to eat at least half a meal a day, so what was the problem?

Groaning, he sat up slightly, propping himself up on one aching elbow, and looked around the room. He was in a bedroom, Chopper was with him, and Luffy was on the bed. Everyone was accounted for, and there was no sign of the blond man or anybody else who must run the restaurant. The nearby window informed him that the sun had set finally, leaving the surrounding area almost pitch black and barren. He shivered, remembering the past few nights out there, and felt very thankful he was, for once, inside a building.

"Oh, you're awake," A girl with long, curly red hair observed as she pushed the door open with her hip, clutching two bottles and a bowl of water in her arms. Zoro looked up at her with his default frown on his forehead.

"Who are you?"

"Is that any way to treat your saviour?" She sniffed, tossing one of the large bottles of water to him. He caught it, instantly revelling in the feel of the cool surface against his burning hot skin.

"Hn," He grunted in response. She rolled her eyes, placing the bowl next to Chopper and the second bottle on the bedside table, before answering him.

"I'm Nami. A pleasure," She smiled sweetly, though the look sent chills through Zoro's spine.

"Er, I'm Zoro," He said in return.

"Nice to meet you, Zoro, and that water will cost you 300 beli." She stuck her hand out expectantly, voice becoming more business-like. That would be the reason for Zoro's bad feeling.

"Witch," He muttered under his breath and received a jab in his arm from Nami's heel.

"Make that 450," She retorted.

"Now, now, Nami Swan, can you wait until they're better before racking up their debt?" A voice from the doorway said. Zoro and Nami looked over. There was the blond guy Zoro remembered seeing. He had an obnoxious haircut which covered one eye completely, a strange swirly eyebrow over his visible eye, and a brown goatee which made Zoro suspicious of whether he really was blond or not. He looked like he cared enough about his appearance to dye his hair, that was for sure.

"Sorry, Sanji," The girl purred, making the man, Sanji, turn to jelly with joy. Zoro snorted and laid back down. For some reason, he was feeling more tired than he should.

"Oh, right," Sanji said and stepped further into the room, revealing the tray he had balanced on one hand. On it were three plates piled high with food. Upon laying his eye on them, Zoro's stomach groaned loudly. Sanji let out a bark of laughter while Zoro looked away, miffed at himself. "Don't worry about it," He assured Zoro, placing one of the plates on the floor next to Zoro, followed by cutlery.

"Thanks," Zoro muttered and reached for the pouch on his belt. "How much d'you want for the food? I got some money. Don't know how much, but it might be enough."

"We don't charge people who faint from hunger," Sanji countered, waving a nonchalant hand and pulling out a cigarette, clamping it between his lips to light it.

"But Sanji—" Nami interjected.

"Please accept my apologies, Dearest Nami!" Sanji gushed at her, "I know how you love money, but this is my most important policy!"

"I don't accept anyone's fucking charity," Zoro growled. Sanji raised his eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Why not? It's food, it's a basic human right. Eat," He instructed.

Zoro hesitated. His stomach hurt and reminded him by groaning pitifully. Sanji snorted.

"I'm not going to take it away, so you might as well eat it before it gets cold," He insisted, placing a second plate in front of Chopper, who immediately started digging in. Sanji gestured to him. "Look, the deer knows what's best for him."

"…Hm," Zoro sighed, picking up his plate and his fork finally. He took a hesitant bite before looking up at the guy and girl, refusing to let his instant relief show on his face. "…And his name's Chopper. He's a reindeer."

Sanji opened his mouth, probably to comment on _why_ they had a reindeer in the first place, when a twitch came from the bed, attracting all three people's attentions.

"Mmmnnngguh," Came the drawn out whine. "I smell food!" Luffy's small figure bolted upright, mouth dangling open and salivating at the mere thought of food. Nami jumped away slightly at the suddenness of the motion. Sanji blinked and handed over the last plate silently, which Luffy accepted with pleasure. He would have offered cutlery too if Luffy hadn't just tipped the plate upright into his mouth, letting the food slide into his wide gob, pausing only to chew when his mouth got too full. Nami turned away with a grimace.

"Oi, Luffy, tone it down a little," Zoro called. Luffy paused in his eating to beam down at Zoro.

"Ooh, Zoro, you're here! That's good!" He shifted slightly to get off the bed when he realised that his legs felt so stiff because they were wrapped in bandages, and the rest of him felt stiff because he was tired from their journeying, so he stayed where he was. Then his attention was caught by the other two in the room. "Ah? Who're you?"

"Er, Sanji," Sanji said, pointing to himself, "And the beauty over there is Nami." As her name was mentioned, Nami held up her hand in greeting. Luffy waved eagerly at them.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, nice to meet ya!" He introduced himself, flopping back on the bed, eyes fluttering closed. "Ahh…I don't want to move…"

"Oi, oi, you really stressed your body, you know," Sanji said hurriedly, "No need to try to push yourself now. Go back to sleep or something after you've had something to drink." Luffy opened an eye again and looked at him, nodding. He finished the food on the plate, licking it clean, before spotting and grabbing the water bottle, chugging it down more impressively than anyone the others in the room had seen.

"So, why are you guys even in the desert?" Nami asked. "And you didn't have any tamed animals as a mode of transport," She said, shaking her head. Zoro sighed.

"For the transport part, we didn't really have enough money to spare to buy any, and we can't rent because we're not going to go back. So we had to go on foot."

"I didn't know there _were_ ways to get through here other than by walking!" Luffy interjected with round, excited eyes. He was clearly interested in the idea.

"Yeah, well…" Zoro continued, "We couldn't do that. And as for _why_ we're out here, it's kind of a long story, I might explain later. It's also a bit of a dangerous story to be talking about to just any stranger, you see what I'm saying?"

"Got it, okay," Nami nodded, picking up the three now empty plates and handing them to Sanji who dutifully took them away with a flourish. "Anyway, you three get some rest. If you need anything, Sanji is more than willing to help out," She turned and called down the hallway, "Aren't you, Sanji?"

"Of course, Nami Swaaan!" Came the excited reply. Nami turned back to them with a smug smile.

"So you don't worry. Oh, and I won't charge you for using the room, since it's Sanji's and not a guest bedroom or my room," She added.

"How generous," Zoro muttered with a snort, and received another jab with the witch demon's heel before she stalked out of the room, turning to smile at them and say goodnight before leaving.

Once she was gone, Zoro sighed and flopped backwards, staring up at the ceiling. "One hell of a vicious woman, that one." She was definitely the kind of woman his mother had warned him about. A light chuckle came from the bed, which surprised Zoro because he was sure Luffy had dropped off to sleep at some point near the end of the conversation once the food was gone.

"Oi, you still awake?" He asked redundantly. A hand drooped off the edge of the bed and wriggled at Zoro.

"Mmhm!" Luffy replied. Zoro batted the hand with his own and Luffy chuckled in response. "Still, aren't we lucky? I told you something would happen today, and it did!"

"Yeah…you've got some instinct there, kid," He commented.

"And we met two really nice people!"

"I dunno about that…"

"Oh come on," Luffy insisted, "They _are_ nice, they gave us beds, food, and water, all for free! And apparently we're using the blond guy's room, which means he's giving up his place to sleep," He explained. Zoro hummed softly.

"True. The girl is still a witch, though," He insisted.

"Zoro!" Luffy scolded, but it sounded like he was trying not to laugh.

"Anyway, good for us, we got so lucky that we might have used our quota of luck for the rest of the month, and from now on our luck will go so far down-hill we'll be getting the worst luck in the world."

"Zoro's so negative," Luffy mused with his toothy laugh, before it was interrupted by a yawn.

"Someone's gotta be, since you're too positive for your own good," Zoro pointed out, "Now go to sleep. We've had a long-ass week and we need to sleep it off, or something."

"Mm…" Luffy noised in agreement and was instantly fast asleep. A quick glance to Zoro's right indicated that Chopper had fast followed the same route, sprawled haphazardly across the floor and completely out of it. They'd both had it rough, and Zoro had taken it on as his responsibility to make sure they were okay.

Briefly, he considered how this affected his own ambitions. He was going on a journey to help someone else achieve their goal. Even if it was a temporary goal of escaping an organisation, it meant the difference between life and death. On the journey, they were sure to run into dangerous enemies who were after Luffy, who Zoro could fight. He would maybe become stronger. He may also become wiser. Perhaps, as well, he would open up more to the people around him.

If he wasn't on this journey, would he run into strong foes? Would he learn life lessons from his travels? Would he make friends as he went? Maybe, but a nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he probably wouldn't. Even if this wasn't his journey to be on, by dedicating himself to the sleeping figure on the bed next to him, Zoro would grow as a man.

He liked that idea. Hell, he was even starting to feel excited. Whatever was going to come from this adventure, he was ready for it to _bring it on_.


	6. Tense

**A/N - And we're back! But this time, with more excitement! Hopefully. Hopefully you will be excited. Anyway, thank you to Just Some Person, Key, Akaiwara, AND Quetoa for your reviews. Wow, four, that's like a new record! Thanks guys, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter right here.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 6**

The next day, Luffy was alarmingly lively. Considering the stress he put his body through, the others were sure he'd be bedridden for a little longer, but after insisting to Sanji that all he needed in his system was a bunch of meat, the boy had sprung out of bed with renewed energy. It was startling. Similarly, Zoro didn't seem at all like he'd just travelled a long way in a desert without eating enough food to get him by. He'd gotten up as though nothing had happened. The vitality of the pair was surprising.

_Not_ surprising was how Chopper the reindeer was not as lively as they were, having trouble moving around in the intense heat of the day. Nami had coddled him and given him a couple of ice packs which sat on his neck and side, cooling him off, for which he was thankful.

The two boys were invited downstairs to have breakfast, where despite Sanji's incessant grumbling that the guests were a hassle, and that they were stealing his room, and that they were practically strangers, he refused to let them have a pathetic bowl of wheat-grain cereal. Instead, he cooked them up a breakfast with a rolled omelette, toast and jam, and a cup of coffee (for Zoro) or fruit juice (for Luffy, who expressed his abhorrence for coffee because of its bitterness).

Nami was there to meet them while they were sitting in one of the restaurant's booths and eating their meals, enjoying a sundae; one of the daily gifts and treats Sanji wanted to lavish her with. She wanted to talk to them about why they showed up on the restaurant's doorstep looking like they'd been touched by death (which was, in Zoro's opinion, an overstatement).

"So? What _happened_ to you guys while you were in the desert?"

"More importantly, why isn't the restaurant open when it's already nine-thirty?" Luffy asked, looking around the empty restaurant and over to the door to the kitchen, where the chefs were setting up for the day.

"It takes too long for people riding flat crabs to get there so early in the day," Nami waved her hand dismissively, "We don't expect customers until about 11am or so." Luffy nodded slowly, not really sure what a flat crab was. "_Anyway_," She continued, "What's up with you guys? What's your story?"

"I'm not so sure we should be telling a stranger that…" Zoro muttered, while at the same time, Luffy piped up,

"We're on the run!"

"Luffy!" Zoro hissed frustratedly.

"You're on the run?" Nami repeated back, "Like, fugitives? Escaped convicts! Oh no! We can't have those here!" She stood up and waved her hands at them in a shoo-ing motion. Zoro growled at her to sit back down.

"It's not like that, woman!" He snapped.

"I'm charging you an extra fifty beli for calling me 'Woman', you brute," Nami sniffed, plopping back down and raising her eyebrow, waiting for a proper explanation.

"Listen," His voice dropped as he began his explanation, "Luffy's being targeted by a criminal organisation. It's not his fault, as far as either of us know. All we know is that something called Baroque Works is after him because of some secret 'Ancient Weapon' or something."

Nami listened with wide eyes as he went on to describe their journey briefly, how they picked up Chopper, and which route they took to get to the desert. At some point, Sanji had joined to listen, leaning on the wall by the table and lighting a cigarette. Zoro had realised at some point that the guy was a chain smoker, and while he wasn't one to judge, he rather hated the smell that stuck to the swirly-brows.

"That's one hell of a story," Sanji commented. "You don't have any previous experience with the desert, do you?"

"Nah, I come from a different island all together," Zoro shrugged.

"Thought so. You were tragically unprepared," Sanji snorted. Zoro tensed up and glared at the smirking chef.

"What'd you say?!" He demanded. Something about this guy really got on his nerves.

"I said you're a real idiot when it comes to survival, huh?" Sanji said louder when their foreheads clashed. "Stupid swordsman!"

"You take that back, shit cook!" Zoro countered. The argument escalated into more of a mini brawl until Nami sighed and stood up, slamming her fist down on both of their heads. Luffy burst out laughing, clutching his stomach in mirth.

"You guys get along well, huh!"

"We do _not_!" They both yelled at him. Luffy just laughed harder while Sanji stalked off back to the kitchen with their empty plates. Zoro sat back in his seat, running his fingers over the abused spot on his head.

"Witch…" He murmured, which Nami overheard, and earned him a glare.

Luffy's cheerful grin eventually died down when he realised his legs were extremely itchy, but he was unable to scratch them through the bandages Sanji had put on them last night. He groaned, scratching his nails fruitlessly against the gauze and moaning, sending Zoro these wide, puppy-dog eyes every now and then.

Since Zoro was unable to resist the sad looks he was getting, Nami realised that she had to be the one to swat Luffy's hands away whenever they tried to tug the bandages off.

"If you keep doing that, they'll never get better," She pointed out. Luffy sulked before stalking off to hang around with Chopper. When he left, Nami sighed and joined Sanji in the kitchen. Zoro, realising he was all alone in an empty room, cushioned his arms behind his head and took a nap.

"What do you think of their story?" Nami asked Sanji when she walked through the doors. A couple of other chefs looked up in acknowledgement before going back to what they'd been doing.

"You mean about the organisation that's targeting them? I dunno. They don't seem clever enough to come up with a cover story for something else."

"I don't know, I think Zoro seems capable…"

"That moss-head? Come on, he has even less brains than Luffy," Sanji snorted. Nami rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he doesn't have a brain buried somewhere in that thick skull of his," She pointed out. True, he did seem a bit dense at times, but unlike Luffy, he seemed to have more experience with travel. Just not in the desert.

"Are you saying you think they might be making it up?" Sanji asked in surprise. Nami shrugged.

"I don't know, it just seems a little…" She motioned with her hands, "…Farfetched. Is all."

"Hmm…" Sanji noised in response, focusing on setting up the pans and utensils in his cooking space and finding the list of food to pre-cook for the day. He was the one making the soup of the day, today, and he knew exactly what to prepare in order to make it the perfect soup.

Nami smiled softly, "But on the other hand, I can't see Luffy being able to lie at all, and it _is _true they have a strangely intelligent reindeer."

Sanji grinned slyly at her, "It clearly has a larger brain than both of them put together." Nami covered her mouth with a hand to hide her giggles.

"Well, whether they're lying or not," She paused, glancing through the window of the door to the main restaurant, where she could see Zoro dozing, "…I kind of like them." Well, she liked the friendship they shared. It was sweet, not that she was often one to enjoy sappy things like that. Zoro could go from being a hard-ass to a complete softy whenever he looked at Luffy, even if he never realised it. It was written plainly on his face.

"Nami Swan is so sweet when she's being sentimental," Sanji enthused under his breath. Nami just shook her head and turned towards the door.

"Whatever. I'll go wake the lump up and start setting the tables up," She said, and waved a casual goodbye as she headed out to the restaurant. Sanji fluttered his hand in an enthusiastic return wave which she didn't see because her back was turned.

A few of the chefs who were clattering about sent Sanji disparaging looks at his antics before going back to minding their own business.

Back in the main restaurant, Zoro was swatted away to the back by Nami. He grumbled and decided to trudge upstairs, muttering about red-headed goblins and stupid dartboard-brows (even if Sanji hadn't been there, Zoro felt like cursing him anyway). He wondered around for a while before finding the room he'd stayed in for the night, where Luffy was playing with Chopper. They were using the small space they had available to dart around, taking turns chasing each other. Zoro watched what they were doing in amusement. Luffy was surprisingly coordinated with his body; he was small and flexible, finding it easy to wind through cluttering furniture and escape the large-bodied reindeer who was very _un_coordinated in the space provided.

Zoro watched them with a smile, and soon found himself wondering just how flexible Luffy was. Once he'd been spotted, which took a surprisingly long time, Luffy brightened.

"Zoro!" He crowed, waving in a large arc as though Zoro might not have seen him.

"Yo, Luffy. Having fun?"

"I'm bored," Luffy sulked immediately, flopping onto Sanji's large, squishy bed. "…And hot."

"I can't do anything to help either of those things," Zoro said apologetically, joining him and lying down.

"Yes you can!" Luffy perked up immediately. Zoro raised an eyebrow, yawning absently. Luffy went on to explain, "You can tell me a story! You've been on other adventures, right?" He pressed. Zoro shifted awkwardly, the bed's fabric rasping against the rumpled bed sheets.

"I guess…?" He couldn't really call them adventures, just him roaming the island and collecting random bounties. Well, there was that one time he accidentally walked ten miles away from his intended destination and ended up in a gang's territory… But Zoro hated admitting that he didn't have the best sense of direction. Because he didn't. It was the ground. It kept moving of its own accord.

But Luffy was looking at him with round, expectant eyes again, so Zoro gave in.

"Okay, I'll tell you about the time when I was a kid, and I challenged a dojo…" And he spent a while after that chatting with Luffy and as the hours went by, he found himself confiding in him things that he'd never talked with anyone about before, like how much he missed his dead friend. Luffy was the perfect audience, making excited noises where excitement was due, and gasping when shock was due, and Zoro got really into the story telling, even though it normally wasn't his thing. Luffy just had that effect on him.

At one point they were interrupted by a grumbling chef with a sizeable lump on his head delivering their food. He informed them, also, that they were to talk to Nami and Sanji about their plans after the restaurant shut, down in the main area.

They weren't sure how they were going to proceed, so the chat would do them good, they'd decided. So, at 8 o'clock, the trio thundered down the spiral staircase (Chopper joined them, carefully going backwards) and into the restaurant's table area, plonking down at a table which had been previously wiped down. Sanji and Nami were just wrapping up their duties, with Sanji locking the doors and sweeping the floors, and Nami cleaning up the empty plates and glasses. Zoro waited patiently for them, and Luffy waited with his forehead on the table, making random noises of boredom which grated on Zoro's nerves.

When they were _finally_ graced with the chef's and waitress' presence, Zoro had dozed off. He received a rude awakening from Nami's fist, though, and he sat up, clutching his aching head and swearing colourfully.

"_Witch,_" He hissed at her.

"Watch your mouth, moss-head!" Sanji countered.

Luffy looked between the three at the exchange, grinning and laughing. Zoro shot him a pointed glare and Luffy held up his hands, continuing to giggle. It wasn't as though he was laughing at _them_, but at the mental image of Nami flying around on a broomstick and cackling like a real witch. Oddly enough, it suited her.

They'd finally settled down to talk as the sun was beginning to set. The other chefs had gone upstairs, leaving the building eerily quiet.

"Right!" Nami said loudly, breaking the silence.

Not seconds after she spoke, a loud bang sounded, coupled with the sound of glass shattering, and Zoro flung himself across the table towards Luffy. The world went topsy-turvy for Luffy then, as Zoro grabbed him round the middle and flipped him off his seat and onto the floor. Sanji and Nami had jumped at the sound and were looking around wildly to see where the noise had come from.

There was another bang, and another, and Zoro's hands came up, snagging each of the two still-upright idiots' wrists and yanking them down, under the table. Chopper, who was throwing himself against the wall in alarm, was pulled down and held by Sanji, once the man got over his initial shock.

"Gunshots?!" Nami asked in a high, alarmed voice. Zoro nodded towards the door in answer.

The restaurant's doors had two narrow windows with fogged glass, which prevented anyone from looking in or out. As a result, they could only see a silhouette on the other side. There was a jagged hole in the glass caused by the bullets, and an arm drew back on that side, before punching in the glass and reaching in. Nami yelped at the sudden shattering of glass, watching the hand grope around the inside of the door.

It reached for the door handle, rattling it violently, before feeling around for a latch of some sort. Only finding a key hole on the inside, the hand withdrew. The figure bent down and peered through the hole. Luffy's heart rate accelerated as the visible eye scanned the room. Zoro pushed Luffy forcibly behind him, making sure that he was blocked from the person's view.

"Baroque Works agents," He breathed, barely above a whisper. He wasn't sure yet, but that was the most probable solution. The figure straightened up again behind the glass and took a step backwards.

In a loud, female voice, the person yelled, "MONKEY D. LUFFY, SHOW YOURSELF!" Confirming Zoro's suspicion. Luffy gasped from behind Zoro, reaching out to grasp Zoro's shirt with nerves. Zoro craned his neck around to look at Luffy before standing, pulling away from the touch.

"Stay here. All of you. Nami, make sure no one finds out that Luffy's here. Shit-cook, keep Chopper calm. I'll go deal with her," He instructed. This wasn't the time to be using insulting names, but it made the situation feel less serious. Sanji frowned but didn't say anything, instead nodding and tossing Zoro a key to get out. Zoro caught it and headed to the front door, grabbing his swords along the way, and motioning for Luffy to stay as hidden as possible. Luffy opened his mouth to say something, but Nami slapped a hand across it, stopping him.

"_Don't let them know you're here_," She hissed, "That's what he said. So, _quiet_." Luffy's eyes snapped to her face and after a moment, he nodded against the hand. Trusting him to keep silent, she withdrew it, and nudged Luffy towards the staircase. If they could get upstairs, Luffy wouldn't be found out. That was her reasoning, at least, but Sanji's arm shot out and caught hers.

"Don't. Upstairs, there aren't any escape routes," He explained. Nami relented, and shifted back to where they had been before.

At that point, Zoro had unlocked the door and opened it, stepping outside. He was spotted immediately, and barely had time to lock the door again, tossing the key through the hole in the window so that the woman couldn't get it.

"You're not Monkey D. Luffy," Came a different voice to the one who yelled. This one was male. Zoro turned around and took in his opponents' appearances. One was a tall man with a shaven head and dark skin. The other was a woman with a ridiculously thin waist and a strange blue afro. She was the one wielding the gun, and had another strapped to her hip.

"No. The guy you're looking for isn't here," Zoro said in a matter-of-fact tone. The woman snorted disbelievingly.

"Don't lie, it doesn't suit you," The woman practically purred. Zoro snarled at her. "Like a wild animal!" She gasped.

Zoro ignored what she was saying, but kept his eyes trained on the gun held in her hand. Though she was acting melodramatic, her hold on the gun stayed professional. She was obviously a pro at using it. They both wore black. Assassins of Baroque Works, maybe?

"Though I must admit, it was clever of you to go West like that. We were expecting you to continue North, but you successfully threw us off your trail for a short while there, otherwise we might have gotten to you sooner. And why to the restaurant?" The woman demanded. "Are they your accomplices?"

Zoro wasn't sure what to say to that. Everything the woman had said was wrong, and Zoro didn't like the fact that she'd mentioned they were going West. They were supposed to be going straight North the whole time…but he didn't want to admit he'd gotten the direction wrong.

So instead, he said, "I have no connections to this restaurant or its occupants."

"Like I would believe that!" The woman snapped. Zoro decided not to pursue the problem.

"And? Who're you?" He demanded.

"We are not obligated to answer that," Replied the man in a stiff voice. He clearly wasn't up for games like his companion was. Zoro scanned his person for any weapons he might use. He didn't believe the man used his fists alone.

"You!" A new voice came from the side of the building. Zoro and the two agents turned to look at the new person to join them. The man who approached had a peg-leg and a ridiculously long plaited moustache, as well as a ridiculously tall chef's hat which was probably making up for what he lacked in height. Zoro had seen him around on occasion, and had been informed that he was the Head Chef, and the owner of the restaurant. Red-Leg Zeff, they called him, though Zoro doubted that "Red-Leg" was really his surname.

"Who are you, old man?" The woman asked with a sneer.

"You're the one who attacked my restaurant, huh?!" He demanded, storming up to her and indicating the still slightly smouldering gun. The woman brought it up to her lips and blew on it, grinning in what Zoro liked to think was a typically villainous way.

"I was just doing my job," She said sweetly.

"Shut it!" Zeff yelled. "Lady or not, anyone who damages _my_ restaurant has to answer to _me_!" Zoro had to admit, the guy did look pretty intimidating and the wooden leg, instead of detracting from it, actually furthered the terrifying image. The woman cocked her gun and pointed it at the chef. In the blink of an eye, Zeff's peg leg shot out and slammed into her hand, knocking the gun's barrel to the side, sending the bullet astray. It embedded itself in the side of the building, only serving to enrage the owner further.

"My, looks like we have quite the fighter on our hands," The woman smirked. "Call me Ms Doublefinger," She introduced. Zoro, satisfied that the old man could handle himself, turned to face the other man.

"Leave," He ordered. From one of his sleeves, the man flicked a throwing knife into his hand.

"Not until you hand over Monkey D. Luffy." Zoro opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off. "I know he is inside. You have been sighted travelling with him and a reindeer." Zoro gritted his teeth, drawing Shuusui and blocking the knife as the man suddenly lurched forwards.

"As if I'd just let you have someone innocent!" Zoro bellowed before using his free hand to draw Wado, placing it in his teeth, and then Sandai.

"Fine. Call me Mr 1," The man introduced. "…But my name is Daz Bones," He added after a moment of thought. Zoro grinned around the hilt in his mouth.

"Roronoa Zoro," He replied. Names exchanged, the fight began with the clang of knives meeting swords as they dove into their fight.

Inside, Luffy, Nami, Sanji, and Chopper stayed still and silent. Luffy wanted to go out and join the battle, fight the ones who came for his head. But Zoro had told him not to let them know he was there. They wanted to throw Baroque Works off their scent, but the organisation was proving to be more competent than they'd thought.

They couldn't hear much, especially of the conversation, but there were clangs and gunshots which were sometimes loud enough to make them jump. Sanji, while he was pinning a spooked Chopper down with a knee and a hand, had lit a cigarette and was cursing the owner for going out there so recklessly. Sometimes, he would throw in "Marimo" too. In fact, he'd wanted to run out there and join in when he heard Zeff's voice from outside, but Nami held him back.

"They'll be alright…" Nami soothed quietly. "They're both strong fighters. Right, Luffy?" She asked. Luffy nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on the door at the front. Sometimes, through the hole the bullets and the fist had made, he could see glimpses of what was going on in the fight. His heart pounded in his chest whenever Zoro looked like he was on the defensive, but it was hard to tell.

He was about to try to go over and take a closer look, when a stray bullet went flying through one of the restaurant's windows, shattering it and making Luffy drop back down to the ground.

He didn't like what was going on. He didn't like that Zoro was fighting. He didn't like that just a few minutes ago, they were all sitting down and readying themselves for a friendly chat, and now they were tense and a little frightened and in a lot of danger. He _definitely _didn't like how his friend was putting himself in danger to fight off people who were coming for Luffy, and he didn't like how Nami and Sanji and Chopper were now also in danger because of him.

That idea struck him and he remembered the night he left his house. He'd left his mother and grandfather alone to deal with the organisation that was after _him_, and they'd died…just like that. Luffy curled up, seeing the burning building before his eyes, as though he was back on the edge of the forest on that night. The fireball and the charred walls that had been his home for his whole life. The roof had been obliterated when the explosion happened. Luffy could remember bits of tile littering the grass.

But he didn't want to remember…so he pressed his hands to his ears to block out the sounds of fighting, and squeezed his eyes shut to block out the images, but it was no good because every time he stared into the backs of his eyelids, there was his ruined house. Visions of what his mother might have looked like popped into his head, blackened and almost unrecognisable, and very dead. His grandfather, too, charred and scattered over a ten foot radius.

His eyes snapped wide open and his breathing sped up, and he felt dizzy. What was happening, and _why_ was it happening? He wanted to be out there, fighting, helping! He felt so useless, pathetic, _guilty_ sitting under a table like this.

His breath caught in his throat, and a choked sob ripped its way out of him, loud enough to startle the other two people and turn their attention on him. His eyes were fogged up too, making his vision waver and distort. Dammit, why was he _here_ when Zoro was out _there?!_

"ZORO!" Luffy yelled and leapt up, cracking his head on the underside of the table in his haste, but he wasn't slowed down by that. Instead, he lunged wildly forward, intending to throw himself into the fray just so that Zoro wasn't there by himself. Because it wasn't _fair_. Another sob slipped out, louder and rougher than the last one. A hand clamped over his mouth, and an arm yanked him backwards and against a warm body.

"Shhh…" A voice said in his ear. Luffy twitched and sobbed again, but it was muffled by the hand. "Shhhh…" The voice repeated softly, and it was Nami's voice, Luffy recognised. She was holding him and stopping him from making too much noise. Luffy realised the tears had already started leaking down his face.

Nami's hand on his shoulder started to rub it soothingly with her thumb, offering comfort. Luffy breathed slowly in and out. He dropped his hands to his sides and they thudded softly on the carpeted ground beneath him. Nami took this as a good sign and rocked him back and forth gently.

"There now, feel better?" She asked. Luffy sniffled, shutting his eyes tightly and nodding. Of course he was okay. There was no burning building. His friends were okay. No one was hurt yet, and he should have faith in Zoro. He was a swordsman, after all; and would soon be the strongest. Luffy took a deep breath, and his head calmed once his breathing regulated.

Nami wrapped her other arm around him and held him there quietly. Luffy was vaguely reminded of when his mother would hug him. True, she was taller, older, and slightly pudgier than Nami was, but the tenderness was still there. Likening Nami to his mother only brought more tears to his eyes, but he let them slip away quietly, because he was supposed to be staying quiet.

None of them said much after that. Luffy cried almost silently, but sometimes a sniffle snuck up on him. Nami was quiet, but kept her strong hold on Luffy. Sanji kept a firm grip on Chopper, but the reindeer had relented and was lying still on the ground now. Sanji occasionally ran his fingers through Chopper's fur to keep him calm.

The fights were harder to hear now, probably because they'd moved further away, but every now and then, rounds of gunfire were heard. They all wanted to see what was going on, but no one moved to look, nor did any of them voice their concerns. They just sat together quietly. It'd be over soon, and then everyone would be okay.

That was what they believed.


	7. Dizzy

**A/N - And BOY what an exciting chapter this is. And also violence-packed. Blood and violence. Enjoy it, guys. Thank you to Key, Quetoa, Akaiwara, Just Some Person, and Ichigi111kurosaki. Wow, did you see that? Five reviews for a chapter! Another new record! Guys, guys... I love you guys. Thank you. Anyway, on with the chapter.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 7**

Zoro and Mr 1 were both fast and strong with their blades. Each attack was met blow for blow. The agent Mr 1 had knives hidden all over his person, so if he used one of them as a projectile weapon, he would not be left defenseless afterwards, and would find an opportunity to collect the fallen knives between attacks. Zoro had a firm grip on his weapons, which he had trained himself to do for years. Wielding three swords wasn't easy, but he had practiced for at least a decade to master it; the Three Sword Style.

Mr 1 didn't have many openings, but once Zoro spotted one crop up, it was when his opponent was empty handed. Zoro took the opportunity and swung his right sword, striking Mr 1 right down the chest. The fabric shredded, but Mr 1 looked unaffected by the attack. The sword dragged uselessly across his torso. Zoro pulled back in shock.

"What was that?!" He demanded.

"Protection against attacks like that," Mr 1 countered. Zoro gave him a look which clearly said he didn't want to deal with his shit. Mr 1 smirked and went on to explain, "It's primitive technology, really." He hooked a finger over the tear Zoro had created and pulled it back to reveal carefully woven metal.

"Chain mail!" Zoro exclaimed through gritted teeth.

"Yes, chain mail. I'm shocked that not many people use it nowadays. I have chain mail lining my whole body in order to protect me from attacks like yours."

"But," Zoro grunted as he tried to slash at Mr 1 again, "chain mail greatly hinders your ability to fight. It restricts your movements and weighs you down."

"I have been training since childhood to move and fight with chain mail at all times," Mr 1 explained. "It is now easier for me to move and fight with it than without it." Zoro frowned, but he understood. He'd trained so long with three swords that if he used two or one, he occasionally forgot he wasn't holding all of them.

"So you're telling me, I have to cut through the metal which protects you," Zoro clarified with hidden frustration.

"That's right," Mr 1 confirmed, getting back into his fighting stance as Zoro did the same.

"That, or I can just go for your head!" Zoro pointed out, lunging forwards, intending to hack through the man's neck with Wado, but a strong arm protected by chain mail came up and blocked it. The sword was nearly knocked out of his teeth from the force, and Zoro winced. His gums ached, since he'd never stressed them like that in a fight before; everything he tried to cut with the sword in his mouth had been easy to cut. Now, he was facing a new challenge.

He took a moment to adjust the sword, careful to not leave himself open to an attack, before leaping towards Mr 1 again, coming at him with his full force. To somewhere near his left, he was carefully tracking the fight going on with Zeff and the crazy, gun-toting woman. Zoro was pretty sure that part of the reason Mr 1 wore chain mail was so that he wouldn't fall victim to his partner's potential trigger-happy slip-ups. Zoro had to monitor the fight going on (as did Mr 1, he noticed; sharp guy) so that he didn't get taken down by a stray bullet. Luckily, she mostly had her back to him.

Zeff, during his fight, had received a couple of bullets to the wooden leg, but whatever kind of wood it was made out of, that thing refused to snap. He also had a graze on his side which leaked blood down his hip and soaked into his shirt and waistband. In comparison, Ms Doublefinger had received two black eyes and sported a bloody nose, because Zeff had managed to nail her in the face plenty of times. He clearly wasn't afraid of being hit by a bullet, and Ms Doublefinger was obviously outmatched by him.

Despite that, she continued to aim at him, quickly running out of the ammo at her disposal, reaching into all sorts of unlikely places on her body to retrieve another load.

"You will never harm this restaurant again!" Zeff yelled at her as he nailed her in the shin. The woman grunted and stumbled backwards, pointing her gun at his face. She pulled the trigger, but Zeff moved faster than a predator in the jungle, dodging the bullet and using the momentum of throwing himself to one side to swing round and kick her in the back of the neck. She lurched forwards and slammed the butt of the gun into the injury she'd created before. Zeff wheezed slightly, narrowing his eyes.

Ms Double finger took this opportunity to aim her gun at his chest. This time, Zeff wasn't as fast as before, and the bullet embedded itself into his arm. Zeff gritted his teeth together, skidding backwards before composing himself. The woman looked smug and drew herself up to look gloatingly down at him.

"You're too old to be telling me what to do!" She mocked. "You don't seem to be fighting as well as before. Lost too much blood? Or perhaps motivation." She kicked out at him but he deflected it with his own leg. The impact forced her to bite back a cry of pain and she glared hatefully at the man.

"Correction; you're ten years too young to even think of challenging me," He smirked. "Just because I'm injured doesn't mean you have the upper hand. How well is your vision with those eyes of yours? Skin swollen too much? Vision impaired?" He asked. Ms Doublefinger flew at him in a rage as he continued to point out the damage he'd already dealt to her before she scored her one decent hit.

She aimed her gun again and pulled the trigger, but Zeff didn't bother dodging. This was because all that happened was a soft 'Click'. No bullet jumped out, because she'd finished her round. Zeff had been keeping track of each shot she fired off, and how many she had in each round, so he knew when her gun posed no threat to him.

Patting herself down, Ms Doublefinger searched for a new round of bullets. Zeff snorted at her amateur move.

"You're wide open," He pointed out. "You may be a good gunwoman, but you don't know what to do once the gun in your hand becomes useless!" On the last note, he slammed his peg leg into her side, knocking her into the sand. She sputtered and let out a frustrated shriek, glaring at him.

"I've had physical training as well!" She countered.

"You're still no match for me. Red-Leg Zeff, they called me, because of all the people I killed with this here leg of mine." He patted his real leg, sparing his wooden one a glance (because even though it wasn't as powerful as his original one, it still packed a punch; or rather, kick), before advancing on the woman.

"I can try! I have to!" She said, scrambling upright and falling into a defensive stance for hand to hand combat.

"Another thing," Zeff added. "You're a little too interested in my young apprentice's friends. I can't put my Assistant Head Chef in danger like that. Poor thing can't even cook soup properly, let alone hold his own in a _real_ fight; not like me." He barked a laugh, "After all, I've taught him never to hit a lady. So I have to finish you here."

"You talk big for someone who's been shot," Ms Doublefinger said in a last ditch attempt to backchat to him. Zeff snorted and brought his leg up, slamming it down in the centre of her face before she even had time to react, sending her flying backwards, rolling several times across the desert sand.

Zeff followed her and looked down at her, waiting for her to get up again. She pushed herself up with a groan, spitting out sand-tainted saliva and glaring hatefully at Zeff. The Head Chef simply advanced on her, intent on following through with his threat to 'Finish her off'.

Once she was knocked into unconsciousness, Zeff fell heavily onto the ground with a sigh, groaning and gripping his arm. It was difficult to move with the bullet still firmly wedged up against the bone, and the blood loss was making him feel light-headed. It took a lot of effort to heave himself over to the side of the restaurant, leaning against the rough wall and shutting his eyes tiredly. The night was cold, but Zeff was too proud to shiver. He would wait until the green haired lad had finished his own fight and then they could get inside and he could rest.

Over with Zoro and Mr 1, they could finally dedicate their entire concentration on each other without having to worry about their fight being interfered with. Zoro had already taken quite a few blows to his torso, but Mr 1 remained frustratingly undamaged. Zoro had to hand it to him, the man sure did know how to handle his weapons.

The fight was getting harder, Zoro found, when his fatigue and blood loss were affecting his performance. His hands were sweaty despite how cold it was, and sometimes he could feel his grip on his swords slipping.

"Damn it…" He hissed under his breath. Mr 1 looked uninterested in his progressively weakening state.

"Would you like to stop and tell me where your friend is?" He asked, and begun twirling one of his knives in his hand. Zoro had seen that move before, and it had been one of the main causes of injury for him; one to avoid at all costs.

"Like fuck!" Zoro spat back. There was no point in pretending that Luffy wasn't there any more, he supposed. If he lost, the man would surely just break in and find him anyway. That was why he needed to win! Bringing his swords in front of him, crossed over each other, he prepared to counter the attack. When it came, aimed for his chest, Zoro used the flat of his first blade to take the brunt of the force, then deflected it sideways. The opening presented itself and Zoro dived in, aiming to cut at Mr 1's exposed flesh, but the agent's other hand came round and grabbed Zoro's arm. Zoro felt himself be lifted off the ground and flipped onto his back.

The impact knocked the wind out of him and he was stunned for a moment. In that moment, Mr 1 took the opportunity to plunge his knife at Zoro's stomach. Just in time, Zoro lurched to the side, avoiding being hit in one of his vital organs, but the knife slashed his side deeply. Blood gushed from the wound and Zoro opened his mouth in a silent scream, dropping the sword he kept clamped there.

"I repeat: Give me Monkey D. Luffy," Mr 1 said passively. Zoro grabbed Wado and rolled some distance away from Mr 1, leaving a blood trail behind him, then whipped off his shirt, shredding it, and tying the tatters around his waist to staunch the bleeding. At one point, a knife came whooshing by his head, and he deflected it with the hilt of Sandai, but other than that, Mr 1 left him alone to his frantic first aid treatment.

Cloth secure and blood flow momentarily held off, Zoro stood again. He readied himself with Wado Ichimonji in his right hand, leaving Shuusui and Sandai Kitetsu half buried in the sand. He could not handle the extra weight of the metal of bearing two more. Mr 1 seemed vaguely surprised that he could even stand up again, let alone resume their fight.

"Oh, I see you still haven't given up. You are persistent, I'll give you that."

"You're the persistent one," Zoro pointed out, flying at him. As he did so, words from his Sensei at the dojo came back to him. He remembered that it was possible to cut everything. He knew there was a way to do it. What was it his Sensei had said? Cut nothing as well. Perhaps he hadn't understood at the time, and perhaps he still didn't understand now, but swords which could cut nothing were useless…

Zoro's vision wobbled and he veered to the left as he lost his balance. He stuck his sword into the ground to catch himself, using it as a support.

"Look at you," Mr 1 commented, "You can hardly fight. Give up before you end up dying."

"And let you take away someone close to me? Never," Zoro panted, taking a moment to gain his bearings. It was difficult to see straight, and was quickly becoming difficult to hear properly as well. Everything sounded muffled and he could hear his pulse roaring more loudly than anything. Zoro's eyes slipped shut.

_Is it just my pulse I hear?_

He could hear more than that. Two, four, seven? Like an orchestra of heartbeats they all thumped just out of time with one another. Zoro exhaled slowly and focussed on the sound, and on what his Sensei had taught him long ago. The art of cutting everything and nothing.

Everything. Was that what he was hearing now? The sounds of all things living? No, more than that. The ground, the sky, the sand. Everything breathed life, whether it was organic or not. He could hear them. Zoro dragged the sword he'd planted in the ground along the sand, creating a ridge. Cut nothing… He couldn't split a single grain of sand. Raising the sword out of the ground, Zoro felt he could stay upright without support. Cut everything… He could hear the life of the man in front of him, watching Zoro, expecting him to drop unconscious at any moment. He could feel the knives the man held in his hands, and the clothes he wore.

_Cut nothing, cut everything…_

Swinging the sword above and around his head, Zoro took one step forward, then another. He braced himself, jaw clenching as though he still bore Wado in his mouth, and charged. Mr 1 didn't move, preparing to block the attack with his knives, and as Zoro closed the distance between them, he swung in a downwards arc.

It happened so fast that his eyes couldn't keep up with his body. Mr 1 couldn't follow what had happened either. Zoro was knelt down on one knee, a few paces behind Mr 1's back, sword sheathed. He barely had time to stagger out of the way as Mr 1's heavy body came crashing to the ground. Zoro took a moment to survey the damage.

The chain mail across the agent's chest had been broken, slashed diagonally down from right to left. Underneath it, he had cleaved a great gash in the man's torso, and blood had spattered everywhere. In Zoro's uncoordinated haste, he realised that he'd taken off the man's hand too. Where it had gone, he didn't know and he didn't particularly care. He had learned not to feel pity for those he defeated when he was fighting and collecting bounties back when he'd begun travelling.

Mr 1 stared up at him, barely conscious.

"Shit…" He muttered. His breath rattled. Zoro might have cut a lung. "Roronoa Zoro, huh?" He let a small grin settle on his face. "I'm glad I at least know the name of the man who defeated me." With that, he turned his head to the side and coughed up blood, then blacked out. Or he'd died. If Zoro truly _had_ punctured a lung with his sword, like he suspected, then it was only a matter of time anyway.

Stepping back, Zoro headed to where his other two swords had been left, retrieving them and sheathing them on his hip where they belonged. He looked around, surveying the area. There wasn't much around to damage, so there wasn't much rubble. Most of the blood stained sand had been covered over by more sand. The only proof that a fight had broken out were the two bloodied and unconscious bodies.

He could see the owner sitting by the restaurant and headed over, stumbling over his own feet. Flopping down next to the old man, Zoro asked, "How are you holding up?"

"Better than you, I can see," Zeff countered with a grin. "That was an impressive fight you put up there. Your opponent was tough," He praised. Zoro snorted wryly.

"Yeah, but my body was trashed in the process." He put a hand over his wound, which had bled through the make-shift bandages he'd tied around it during that last attack. "I… I could…" He panted, "…Do with a drink."

Zeff laughed quietly and good-naturedly. "I'm sure that could be arranged."

Zoro grinned slightly before a wince made him replace the expression with a grimace of pain. He wasn't sure if this was one of those situations in which you didn't go to sleep because it was bad, but he really just wanted to shut his eyes and drift off. Zeff nudged him slightly and he grunted in pain.

"…That man really did a number on you," He commented.

"Shut up," Zoro replied through gritted teeth, not opening his eyes. "You don't look too good yourself."

"Gun-slingers don't have to be strong to do harm, they just have to have good aim," He pointed out, then grinned, "And they need to be fast reloading."

"Heh. So the woman had some serious weak points you could tackle."

"Yeah. Perhaps I should have fought the man you were up against. Chain mail or not, I'm not known as Red-Leg Zeff for nothing!" The man laughed jovially. Zoro tried to join in but the movement hurt too much, so he stopped.

"Nah. I want to fight strong opponents. And this time, I got my wish," He said bitterly, "And it proved I was weak."

"But is that _all_ it did?" Zeff prompted. Zoro leaned his head back so it bumped painfully against the wall, lolling onto his shoulder. He cast Zeff a calculating look before smirking.

"No, you're right. I learned something new today, though it was something I should have learned years ago, before I had even left the dojo," He admitted. Sensei had taught him how to cut through anything, and he hadn't listened in all these years. He felt somewhat ashamed of himself and how slow his progress had been.

Once, he had faced off with Mihawk, the man he was after now, and lost terribly. That was an eye-opener which told him that he wasn't ready to take up the title of Greatest Swordsman yet, so Zoro had returned to east blue. That was why he wanted to encounter dangerous enemies, and challenge them with his swords. He spent a long time after his defeat training anew. But now that Zoro thought about it, he could see how slow his progress had been. It was pitiful. Yet here he was, on the path to find Hawk-Eyes Mihawk again.

As he thought, his mind drifted off, and the world around him faded. He could hear the creak of a hinge and distant voices. They were very far away. Was that Luffy? Why was he so far away? At least he was safe, and for that, Zoro was glad. He'd only spent an hour fighting a tough opponent for Luffy's safety, if he was taken now, Zoro wouldn't forgive himself.

"_Look…over there…bodies?"_ One voice echoed around his head.

"_Where…oro go…"_

"…_much blood…"_

No longer able to focus, Zoro blacked out completely and keeled over sideways, landing sprawled in the soft, cool sand.

Where there had once been loud noises and fighting and gunshots, there was now an eerie silence. Luffy had calmed significantly after his episode, and now he pulled away from Nami's embrace slightly. Everyone there was focussed on the door and what they could see outside. It had gotten very dark, being in the desert, and they couldn't hear or see anything.

"Hey…" Luffy whispered unsurely. "You don't think…?"

"Yeah, maybe… The fight's over. Who do you think won?" Sanji asked in a low voice. Luffy inhaled sharply.

"Zoro, obviously! Because if he lost…" But he decided not to finish that train of thought, in case it brought back memories he didn't want to remember. Nami hugged him once more before pulling away entirely.

"I'm a little worried about Old Man Zeff…" Sanji grumbled, lighting up a cigarette. "What was he thinking, jumping into the fight like that?"

"Shh!" Nami instructed, and the two boys' mouths snapped shut with an audible click. When they fell silent, they realised they could hear faint conversation from outside. One sounded like Zeff, and the other was too quiet for them to properly make out. By what they could hear Zeff saying, though, it was Zoro he was talking to. Luffy's eyes went round.

"See! It's them! Both of them are okay!"

"We should go out and get a grip on the situation," Nami said, climbing out from under the table and smoothing her clothes. Luffy followed, looking rumpled as well but not really minding it. Sanji stood last, releasing Chopper who hovered nervously by his elbow.

"Right…" He was the first to approach the door, stooping down to carefully brush away the shards of glass and scoop up the key lying in their midst. He paused to look outside through the hole before slipping the key into the keyhole and turning it slowly. Luffy hovered behind him anxiously, darting out once the door was open. Immediately, the stench of blood in the air hit him.

"That's foul…" Nami muttered. Chopper backed away from the door, his heightened sense of smell repelling him from the scene.

A short distance away, they could see the body of a man, brutalised, and Luffy could only feel incredible relief that it wasn't Zoro lying there in the man's place. A vulture flew low over the man in circles, waiting for him to die. There was also a woman, who didn't look nearly as beaten up as the man did, who wasn't attracting quite as much attention from the birds of prey.

"Took you long enough."

Sanji whipped around at the voice of his mentor and his mouth fell open, dropping his cigarette. Luffy and Nami jumped, startled at the sudden noise in the stillness of the night, whipping around.

"Owner Zeff!" Nami exclaimed, finding her voice finally.

"ZORO!" Luffy yelled upon seeing his companion in a state that Luffy had never wanted to see him. Rushing to his side, Luffy carefully rolled him onto his back to look at the injuries he'd obtained. "Zoro, what happened, are you alright?" He prompted, jostling Zoro's shoulder to get him to respond. Zoro let out a low groan, keeping his eyes shut, and while he was still worried, Luffy relaxed.

"Shit, old man, what happened to you?" Sanji asked, going over to take a look.

"Nothing bad, but I don't trust myself to stand. My leg's been creaking for a while now, and I'm worried that any more pressure will splinter it," Zeff commented, rapping a knuckle against his bullet-riddled leg.

"What the hell did you _do_ with it?!"

"I let it take the brunt of the attacks. Blocking gives me better openings than dodging," He explained with a shrug.

"Well, either way, we need to get you guys inside!" Sanji said and stood up. "PATTY, CARNE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. The two chefs in question darted out through the restaurant quickly.

"Is it over?!" They demanded, looking around wildly.

"Yeah. It's over," Zeff assured.

"I need you two block-heads to put your muscles to use and get these two into their rooms- well, the moss-head doesn't have a room but I guess, considering the circumstances, he can take my bed. Just as long as he doesn't bleed all over the fucking sheets, I don't want to travel into town just to buy more." The two chefs saluted and hurriedly collected Zoro and Zeff into their arms, though Zeff said that he could still use one leg, and didn't want to be carried, but he was ignored. Luffy followed after Patty, who was carrying Zoro, like a lost puppy, trying to see if Zoro was really okay.

Nami placed a comforting hand on Sanji's arm, smiling at him. "That was nice of you to do, Sanji," She said sweetly. "You can sleep on my floor tonight if you want," She suggested. Sanji's mood immediately rocketed and he beamed at Nami.

"But I couldn't intrude in such an intimate manner!" He practically swooned. Nami shrugged.

"It's either that, or share a floor with Luffy," She pointed out. Sanji stopped and seriously considered.

"…I guess he'll be wanting some to spend some time alone with the idiot," He conceded. Nami nodded.

"So don't worry about it, tonight's a special night and everyone feels a little shaken up. We need rest, and you can do that in my room." She lead him by the elbow back into the restaurant, and they went upstairs to get their well-deserved sleep.

**TBC**


	8. Decisive

**A/N - Oh wow only two reviews right after five reviews. All the same, thank you very (very _very_) much to Key and Yaoifan124. This chapter is the aftermath of the last, and we're off again. Oh boy do I look forward to next chapter though, and you should too!**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 8**

Zoro and Zeff had, after a couple of hours, finally received full medical attention. Because they were so far out in the middle of nowhere, the Baratie needed to have its own doctor, so that if any one of them fell ill, they wouldn't need to spend time carting them to the nearest town for treatment. Zoro's injuries were severe, but he'd live. Zoro had stayed awake long enough to mumble his blood type at them, and he was successfully given a blood transfusion. After that, though, he'd conked out completely, and been moved to Sanji's bed, as promised.

Luffy kept watch over him, even during the time when Zoro was receiving stitches and the doctors tried to shoo Luffy away, but he stayed and flitted around the wall, watching Zoro anxiously. When he'd been moved to the bed, Luffy took Zoro's original spot on the floor and stared up at him, with Chopper sprawled out behind him.

Despite the fact that the night had reached its peak and was moving into morning, Luffy hadn't yet slept. He kept thinking about Zoro fighting for his sake, even though they barely knew each other. Well, that wasn't quite true. After spending ten days in close quarters with him, Luffy felt like he got to know Zoro really well, but there were still things he didn't know, like Zoro's past.

"I feel kind of bad for dragging you into this," He murmured, "With the dangerous people after me, who are now after you too…" He explained, and was met with silence. So he added, "I'm sorry."

That got a small response, as Zoro twitched and inhaled slightly. Luffy sat bold upright and watched his form carefully.

"It's not your fault…" Zoro muttered, dangling an arm down the side of the bed and wiggling it in Luffy's direction. Luffy moved closer to it, and Zoro planted his hand on the teen's head, ruffling his hair. "I make my own decisions, I fight whoever I want to, and no outcome is your fault," He assured. Luffy beamed, clamping his hands down over Zoro's where it still rested on his head.

"Thank you!"

"You say that a lot," Zoro pointed out.

"I know…"

"…Go to sleep." And that was that. Zoro motioned Luffy away and put his hand back on the bed. Luffy hesitated before standing up and looking at Zoro who stared back at him in confusion. Then Luffy reached over and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up to Zoro's chin and tucking it around him. Then he placed a wet kiss on Zoro's cheek, and, satisfied with a job well done, pulled away and laid down on his little mock bed.

"Night-night, Zoro." He received a soft snort.

"Night, Luffy."

After that, they easily ignored the beginnings of daylight filtering through the curtain, and fell asleep. Zoro followed quickly after Luffy, needing much rest to recover from his exhausting fight.

But their sleep didn't last long, because Sanji came in with breakfast, nudging them awake with his toe.

"Oi, sleepy-heads," He called, feeling a little more friendly than usual despite himself. Luffy, ever the heavy sleeper, continued to snooze peacefully. Zoro, on the other hand, was awake and alert the moment he heard the door latch click open.

"Piss off, I'm injured," he grunted. Sanji waved the food in his face.

"I guess you won't want this then, shit-head. Food helps heal injuries faster." In response, Zoro's stomach growled loudly, and Sanji stood back in triumph. Luffy sat up promptly, with a yell of "Food!" startling Sanji.

"Fine, give me some," Zoro demanded. While Sanji was reluctant to oblige with that tone of voice, he gave Zoro some sandwiches using left-over meat they had in storage. Luffy held out his hands, mouth already salivating in anticipation, and Sanji slapped a couple of sandwiches into his waiting hands too.

"There, eat up. You really need it, since that guy before really did a number on you."

"Oh yeah," Zoro said, absently ripping a bite out of the sandwich and speaking through the mouthful, "What happened to the guys we were fighting, in the end?"

"Oh, them." Though Sanji didn't like to think about how a woman got thrashed in a fight, she was the wrong kind of woman to worship, and he was glad he didn't have to do the pounding himself. "…They both died," He admitted. "The chefs took care of them, don't worry."

Zoro stared at him, freezing. His sandwich fell out of his grasp. Sanji's face contorted with realisation and horror, before he delivered a kick to Zoro's head.

"We didn't _cook_ them! What kind of people to you take us for?!" He demanded. Zoro held up his hands in a show of innocence, shrugging. "They _buried_ them! Fucking Christ, you and your morbid ideas!"

Luffy, from the floor, laughed at their antics cheerfully, having already consumed the sandwiches given to him like a vacuum. Zoro gave the spare sandwich he had to Luffy (who gave it to Chopper, who had just woken up), going back to eating the first one like no cannibalistic implications had ever been made. He was glad to see Luffy acting normal. Last night, Luffy had been a little off and Zoro didn't know why.

Sanji rolled his eyes, muttering about threats to kick the shit out of the damn swordsman if he doesn't eat a healthily sized meal.

Nami chose that moment to come in. Luffy waved her good morning along with a verbal greeting which allowed her the pleasure of seeing half-masticated sandwiches. She grimaced before turning to see how Zoro was doing.

"Morning, boys," She smiled. Sanji turned to her and immediately started spewing about how the best mornings were the ones where he woke up next to her, and she ignored him. "I've actually come to ask something…"

"Actually, I had something to ask too," Sanji said, suddenly switching to a more serious mode. "When you guys said you were on the run from an organisation, I just thought you meant you guys owed them a lot of money you didn't have or something, and they were trying to collect the debt…So what happened out there last night was something of a surprise. What happened?"

"We hadn't told you anything because we thought a Baroque Works agent might be listening in, but since I know now that the people tracking us yesterday were the only ones who knew of our location…" He hoped. These were beginning to sound like famous last words. "…I guess there's no real harm in telling you guys," Zoro admitted, then added gruffly, "You kinda deserve it."

"We do," Agreed Nami sternly.

"So, spill."

Zoro explained, in as brief an explanation as possible, that Luffy's house had been blown up with his relatives still inside it because the organisation wanted Luffy, because of this strange 'Key' that was apparently a big deal. They were apparently a ruthless organisation which got what they wanted through any means. Once he had finished, Sanji looked shocked and Nami looked calculating.

"I see…" She muttered, then knelt down to Luffy and asked quietly, "Hey, Luffy?"

"About last night…"

"…Yeah?"

"Your little melt-down…" She'd _tried _to think of the most tactful way to refer to it, "Was that about the last time Baroque Works found you?" She prompted softly. In the background, Sanji was quietly praising Nami's sensitive maternal side and her compassion which outshone anyone else's.

Luffy stared up at the ceiling for a moment, wondering how to answer that. "…Yeah. I guess. Last time, I…Lost relatives…this time, I thought I'd…lose again," He replied in an even quieter voice than Nami's, sounding more conspiratorial than upset. Nami wondered if that was actually a subconscious defence against having another emotional break-down.

"I see." She stood up and stretched, turning to the door. In a louder, normal voice, she interrupted Sanji's babbling with her command, "Come on, Sanji, let's set up the kitchen for today!" Sanji followed, like the loyal dog he was.

They were silent for the trip down the stairs and through the double doors of the kitchen, but once they had reached the counter Sanji worked at, Nami broke the silence with a serious, purposeful tone.

"I definitely believe their story now, after what I saw last night," She said seriously. Sanji nodded, stroking his beard.

"It becomes more believable when you see it first-hand," He admitted, starting to go about his normal morning routine of washing his hands and putting on his apron, then giving the counter a wipe down before starting on the actual food.

"And the kid's grown on me a lot," Nami added. "After all, I feel like I've bonded with him now that I've held him like I did last night. You don't let something like that happen and just go on like nothing ever happened." There was a short stretch of silence after that.

Sanji eventually broke it with a small smile, saying, "Does he remind you of yourself?"

"You mean when my town was enslaved for a while," She clarified. Sanji nodded. "I suppose, maybe. I never reacted like he did, but I'm not surprised in anyway. It hasn't been two weeks since he lost two of his family members, and by the sounds of it, he hasn't grieved properly yet. Like he's forcing himself to cheer up, because there's no time for crying when you're on the run. Last night, he was able to let out his sadder emotions for a bit."

"You really sound like you care for him," Sanji mused. Nami huffed and folded her arms.

"Somebody needs to care for him, because it's apparent he doesn't know how to do anything by himself." Sanji nodded in agreement.

"And moss-for-brains doesn't exactly know much about looking after anyone either, not even himself. I'd say they were lucky they didn't starve to death while they were in the desert."

"Plus they seem to be terrible at navigating," Nami laughed lightly. Sanji automatically beamed at the sound, nodding.

"Of course, no one's as good as you!"

"Thank you, Sanji," Nami replied before continuing, "But now I'm worried about what'll happen to them once they go out again? I'll make sure they wear proper clothes so Luffy doesn't get burnt again, and you can make sure they're supplied properly, but what if they're left running around in circles in the desert for the rest of their lives? …Which wouldn't be very long once they run out of food and water."

"You make great points, Nami Swan…" Sanji hummed in thought, slicing up meat in preparation for the side dishes for that day. They stood in silence while the other chefs came through, debating what to do. Deep down, Nami already knew what she wanted to do, but it would be a stupidly big commitment for someone she'd met only two days ago.

Right before the restaurant officially opened, Nami turned to Sanji with determination. "I'm going," She said. At his confused look, she elaborated, "With Luffy and Zoro. It's obvious they can't get around by themselves, and if Luffy reacts like he did yesterday, he'll need me to help him because there's no way Zoro would know what to do. So I'm going."

"Nami…" Sanji's cigarette nearly fell out of his mouth in his surprise, but he shut his jaw in time to catch it when Zeff came stomping down the stairs with his spare wooden leg. Sanji took the distraction.

"Oi, oi, shitty geezer, why the hell are you already up? What about your arm?!" He demanded. Zeff snorted and started rolling his sleeves up.

"As if a small wound like this one would keep me from doing my job," He snorted. Sanji tried to protest further, but a swift kick to the back of his knee, making him topple onto the floor, shut him up for good. Instead, he slunk back to the kitchen to get on with his job and consider what Nami had said.

He kind of understood where she was coming from. Part of him wanted to throw caution to the winds and go with her, abandoning his life as a Baratie chef. But the thing that was stopping him was Owner Zeff. Well, not _literally_, but the burden of a debt Sanji bore for Zeff saving his life and raising him like a son. He didn't know how he could possibly abandon the man he owed his life to.

Luffy, the odd reindeer, and the green blob inhabiting his bed had, admittedly, grown on him. Not as much as they clearly had on Nami (who always made the most beautiful and compassionate decisions!), but he felt strangely fond of them. Mainly, though, he would want to go because Nami wanted to go. They'd always been together; two nobodies with depressing pasts, who didn't even grow up knowing their surnames. They often felt like they didn't belong anywhere, and Sanji still felt that way even now. Maybe part of the reason Nami wanted to leave was because she wanted to find where she _did_ belong.

…Sanji wanted to find that as well. He wanted to find the people he wanted to spend the rest of his life with (and if those people included the glory that was Nami Swan, that would be really great), but a part of him was afraid. He was afraid of going outside the comfort of the Baratie and the shitty old man being a (violent) guide, who made things right when he got them wrong, and who taught him all that he knew today. They'd suffered together for weeks, but it was thanks to Zeff that Sanji was even alive to go through with the suffering and come out of it a better person. He couldn't leave that behind, could he? For both his sake and Owner Zeff's.

Here in the Baratie, he met a lot of interesting new people, and then they left again. He always saw refreshing new faces (particularly of the beauties which often graced the premises) so he didn't think he was missing out on anything new… Well.

That was a lie.

He couldn't fool himself into thinking that he was completely happy here. He wanted to go, he really did, but in the end, he just couldn't.

Upstairs, Zoro was lounging on Sanji's bed and idly watching Luffy find longer bits of Chopper's fur and braid them. Chopper let him, albeit a little disgruntled, while he lay on the floor and tried to cool off. Zoro grinned lazily, pleased to see Luffy's usual upbeat demeanour, which Zoro had grown so used to seeing. It hadn't even gone away when they were tired and trekking through the desert.

Luffy occasionally glanced up at him to see if he was watching, and smiled whenever he saw that he was. Zoro was enjoying himself, but he wished he could get up, do some push-ups, or stomach crunches, or _something_. It frustrated him knowing that he wasn't allowed to move, right after a battle in which he uncovered some flaws of his. They wouldn't even let him clean his swords (not that they had a sufficient sword-cleaning kit anywhere, but for now, knife cleaning tools would suffice).

They were all startled out of their relaxed states when Nami came in baring more food. Zoro wasn't interested in eating at the moment, so he told Luffy to just eat his share (and was rewarded with a blindingly bright grin). Unfortunately, Nami shot him down by saying he'd recover faster by getting a healthy meal.

"Dammit, woman…" He muttered as he shovelled spoonfuls of lumpy, meaty soup into his mouth. Nami just rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

"Now, listen. I've been thinking…" She paused, making sure she had all of their attention, "That in order for you to survive from here on out, you'll need my superior navigational skills." The response she was met with was varied. Luffy brightened up and threw a fist which he wasn't using to eat into the air, cheering. Zoro groaned and rolled onto his side (only wincing slightly when his stitches were stressed).

"Do we _really_ need you? We were doing fine on our own…" He grumbled. Nami put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"Don't be silly. Tell me: where did you want to reach by cutting through the desert?" She prompted.

"Uuh… We were going to go to Alubarna," Zoro said, trying to remember.

"Right… So why were you going west?"

"Because..." Zoro's ears went pink, "You can't blame us! Everything looks the same in the desert!"

Nami shook her head with a sigh. "What a pathetic excuse."

"Hey, it all worked out in the end! We shook those people from Baroque Works off our tail, didn't we? That woman said so herself."

"Oi, Zoro," Luffy interrupted, "I don't mind if you have bad navigational skills. People can't be good at everything, right? I'm not very good at it either," He said with a smile. Zoro stared at him for a moment before dropping his head and laughing softly under his breath.

"Fine," He conceded, "You can come. Not like it's my choice anyway."

Nami took a moment to marvel at how easy it had been once Luffy had made a small comment like that. She smiled, pleased that it had worked out, and turned around to face the door.

"Good. I'll start working out what to bring and what to leave behind." With that, she left. Once the door was shut behind her, she leaned against it in thought. It had just struck her what a big commitment she was getting herself into. She'd been here for a good few years after her village had been freed from enslavement, and it had become a second home to her. Now, she was about to leave most of it behind to travel to who _knows_ where?

All for the sake of adventure, she supposed.

While Nami was gone, Luffy picked off his bandages, saying his legs were itchy. They were still red and uncomfortable, but the blisters were no longer in danger of getting infected, so nobody should complain about his taking them off. Zoro watched him then looked down at his own bandages.

"I wish I could do that, these are such a pain to move about in…"

"But if you did, you'd heal slower… And you need to heal quickly!"

"Tch…If only I had some sake to pass the time…" Zoro huffed. Luffy perked up and beamed. Zoro looked at him questioningly.

"Sake? Will that make you heal faster? I can get some!" He stood up without giving Zoro time to reply, and left the room, scampering noisily down the stairs. As he went, he passed the people in the restaurant. It was buzzing with life, and he had to marvel that so many people got there every day that the business was always in such full swing.

But he shrugged that off and continued down to the cellar, where the barrels and bottles of drinks were kept along with preserves. Looking around, he browsed the dusty wooden racks, trying to find some sake. It was cold down here, which was a surprise, but Luffy liked the change. If he'd known how much more refreshingly cool it was down here, he would have rather slept here than up in the bedroom.

Luffy ceased his musings when he spotted a bottle which was clearly labelled 'Sake' (there were some other words on it too, which detailed what kind of sake it was, and from which year, but Luffy didn't care about those because they didn't make sense to him). Grabbing it, he turned around to go back upstairs, but was startled when he came face-to-face with Owner Zeff.

"Whoa!" Luffy blinked, taking a step back. "Er…" He hid the bottle behind his back and shifted guiltily from foot to foot. Zeff snorted at him.

"Brat, who do you think you are, sneaking down here and taking our stock, huh?"

"I thought that if I did, Zoro would get better sooner…" Luffy explained half-heartedly. Zeff let out a bark of laughter, though Luffy wasn't entirely sure if it was mirthful or not.

"You got some nerve. Now listen, I actually came to tell you that you should plan to leave soon. Now that we know you've been tracked here before, it's dangerous to hang around."

Luffy nodded slowly. "…Oh."

"You get it, then? Good, go tell your partner." Zeff turned around and stomped his way back up the stairs, uneven footprints getting further away as he went. Luffy waited, then brought the sake from behind his back and smiled.

"He didn't tell me to put it back!" He hummed happily and skipped noisily up the stairs, past the restaurant, and up into the bedroom Zoro was in. He looked up when Luffy came bounding exuberantly into the room, holding out his prize proudly. Zoro's face lit up with a grin and he gladly held his hand out for the bottle.

"Thanks, how'd you get it?"

"The old man let me have it!" Luffy said, which was true, in a way. Because Zeff knew he'd taken it. Zoro shrugged and popped open the bottle, taking a swig.

"Ahhh… Good stuff. It's been way too long since I've had any," He admitted.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy cut in, "Old man told me that we should be going soon, before more of those guys show up." And Luffy knew that was the _last_ thing they wanted to happen. Not only was Zoro in no fit state to fight, he didn't want anything bad happening to such a nice restaurant.

Zoro nodded. "Yeah, I've been thinking along the same lines. Tomorrow morning, that's when we'll go," He decided. Luffy nodded, though slightly unsurely.

"…Will you be okay by then?" He asked. Zoro smirked and waved a hand casually.

"I'm already fine. A bit of rest, that's all I need, then I'm better again," He explained, taking another swig of his sake. From the corner, Chopper made a noise of disapproval. Zoro shot a rebellious look back. "Got something to say?" Chopper, for his part, looked away.

"Well, if you say so!" Luffy said brightly. "I'll tell Nami then!" With that, he was gone again. Zoro sighed and relaxed into his pillow, considering doing some sit-ups while he "rested".

The next morning, Nami was packed, and had sorted out Zoro, Luffy, and Chopper's supplies so that they would have enough food and water for the trip to Alubarna, which would take a day and a half to get to on foot. Once she'd realised that there wasn't a single responsible brain cell between them, Nami had taken it upon herself to be the "mother" of the group. She'd also gotten her hands on proper desert clothes which covered up Luffy's legs so that they wouldn't have a repeat incident with the sunburn.

At 8am, the quartet was out in the front of the restaurant. Nami was a little unsure about leaving this soon. She knew that they had to leave quickly, but Zoro was still recovering from his wounds. In her opinion, going out _now _was reckless.

That, and… She had been hoping for a little extra time to convince Sanji to come along with her. She knew he wanted to, it would just take some careful coaxing. Now, Zeff and Sanji were there at the door to see them off.

"Be safe, Nami!" Sanji yelled, between anxious puffs on his cigarette, "I-I'll miss you…!" He was hovering around the door frame, looking conflicted, glancing agitatedly between the travellers. Nami rolled her eyes.

"If you'll miss me so much, why don't you come with me?" She prompted. Sanji stared at her, eyes flicking to Zeff who stood next to him.

"I couldn't, though… My life revolves around this restaurant," He tried to reason. "And how could I leave Old Man Zeff? How the hell is ditching him paying him back for everything he's done to me?!" He continued. "I need this restaurant, and I'm damn sure this restaurant needs a chef like me, since the rest of those scum can't prepare a meal to save their life…"

He would have continued, had a wooden leg not swung out of nowhere and cracked him around the head.

"What do you _mean_ this restaurant needs you?!" Zeff yelled at him.

"I-!" Sanji tried, but was cut off with another whack, making the onlookers (save Zoro) wince slightly. Sanji clutched his abused head, gritting his teeth.

"What the hell makes you think your food is so special?! And more importantly, why do you think that I saved your life so that you could waste the rest of it in the middle of the desert working in a restaurant?!" He demanded. He didn't let Sanji get a word in edgeways as he continued to rant, "You're not like the rest of the employees here; they're all ex-convicts, pirates, people who have nowhere else to go. You? You have the opportunity to travel the world!"

"Geezer…" Sanji muttered, stunned.

"Not to mention," He added with a grin, "I can't imagine you abandoning a sweet young girl like Nami." At this, Nami blushed and waved an abashed (yet very pleased) hand. Sanji stuttered, looking over at her.

"Well, I- I don't like the thought of leaving a princess like her, but I also can't imagine abandoning the restaurant…"

"One of those two things doesn't have _feelings_, though," Zeff argued. ("Yeah, Nami," Snorted Zoro, earning himself a boot to the knee).

Luffy was watching the exchange silently, but now he felt like joining in the conversation. He laughed, looked at Sanji, and said, "I suppose we'll starve without you!"

The others looked at him in surprise. Sanji froze and stared at Luffy.

He went on, "After all, none of us know very much about cooking. It's bound to happen sometime."

Sanji gritted his teeth and stubbed out his practically forgotten cigarette on the sole of his shoe, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"…Fine," He agreed, "I'll go. I'll travel with you guys, and," He pointed a finger at them, "I'll be an excellent damn chef, and a great fighter against anyone who comes at you."

Nami's and Luffy's faces lit up in excitement. Luffy whooped and jumped into the air. Zoro looked much less enthusiastic. He also had to wonder about what Sanji's fighting skills were like. Were they any good? Would he actually be capable of protecting Luffy? Probably not. Zoro decided not to leave it up to banana-brains to look after Luffy. It'd be _his_ job alone. Unless Luffy proved that he could handle enemies of this calibre.

Sanji had dashed off to collect his prized possessions and supplies for his own travel. He would have to leave a lot behind, much like Dear Nami, but he would be able to get a suit or two in there. Pulling the appropriate covers on to protect himself from the heat and light of the sun, Sanji hauled his luggage onto his back, and made his way back downstairs. He had a lot of cooking supplies, but he'd have to use what he could find wherever they ended up each time.

"Okay!" He dashed outside, not having taken longer than fifteen minutes. "I'm ready. I'm going." He was almost breathless despite the fact that they hadn't left yet. He took a step away from the restaurant and heard calls of his name behind him. Turning around, he saw each of the chefs leaning out of the windows.

"We heard about it from Owner!" Patty cried indignantly, "Did you think you could just walk away without saying goodbye?!" Similar cries came from the others. Sanji's breath hitched.

Taking a deep breath, he yelled back at them, "Look after the restaurant, you bastards! You can't go slacking off while I'm not there!" Then he paused for a moment, and turned to face Zeff. "And Owner Zeff… I owe you so much… _Thank you! Thank you for everything!_" After that he turned away and motioned to Nami.

She smiled at him, waving her own silent goodbyes to the men she had worked with.

"Lead the way," He croaked. He wasn't sure if he could hold himself together, but he would try. What he needed to do was get away from there as soon as possible. Nami nodded, pointing in the direction they were headed for.

"This way guys!" She called.

"Alright!" Luffy cheered, dashing forward a few steps to be in front of the group. "To Alubarna!" He cried.

Sanji grinned. They were off, together with a ball of energy, a strangely perceptive reindeer, a shitty marimo, and a goddess from the most glorious depths of heaven itself, into inevitable danger. Who knew what would happen in the future, or how long this would take? Or even what they would do once the journey was over? But if no one else was concerned, neither would Sanji be. They'd cross that bridge when they got to it. But for now, he'd just crossed his own bridge and into a new world of possibilities.


	9. Nostalgic

**A/N - My posting times have been getting later and later as my sleeping schedule has been messed up. Hopefully nobody minds. Anyway, very much thank you to Khrystaline, Key, and Yaoifan124. You guys are fabulous and each review makes my day. Now onto a chapter which is my personal favourite...!**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 9**

The initial excitement wore of very quickly once the restaurant was out of sight. Luffy had gone from being ahead of everyone to trudging behind them tiredly. Nami had claimed the East Blue map from Zoro a while ago and had been plotting the best route to the Grand Line. Chopper had become sluggish as well and tried to walk in Zoro's broad shadow in the hopes that he would keep somewhat cooler. Zoro didn't mind all that much.

As a result of the current layout, Sanji had gotten a little frustrated with the current lack of conversation. He occasionally glanced between Zoro and Luffy, two people he met only a few days before and wanted to learn more about. If they were going to be travelling together, they should know more about each other, it only made sense.

While he didn't want to talk to the moss-head, Sanji had to admit that he'd probably get a better conversation out of him than the boy who kept complaining about his sweaty bangs and his sandy feet and how he was going to melt into a puddle if they didn't stop and rest soon. So, he sidled casually up to Zoro, who glanced at him before fixing his eyes back on the path they were walking.

Sanji lit a cigarette before striking up any sort of conversation, puffing on it to relax some more. "So…" He began. It was a typical way to start, but it got the ball rolling. Zoro grunted in return, not sounding very interested in the way this was going. Sanji pushed on, "I was wondering…"

"Bad habit, that," Zoro muttered. Sanji ignored that.

"I was actually wondering how you and Luffy ended up travelling together. I mean, why did you agree to go with him? From your story, he was being targeted, and then he and you were suddenly together."

Zoro was silent for a moment. Sanji wondered if he was considering the question, or if he'd decided not to go on with the conversation after all. After a few moments, though, Zoro spoke.

"…I owe him."

"Eh?"

"I owe him a favour. So I agreed to travel with him some of the way."

"Really? You're doing all of _this_ over a favour? What did he do to you for you to go this far for him?" Sanji pressed, intrigued.

Zoro took another moment to think. Sanji wondered if Zoro was just slow-witted and always had to think this long before opening his mouth. At this point, Luffy was intrigued and listening in to the conversation. He could remember the day they met well because, for some reason, it stuck in his memory. Zoro, too, could recall the day clearly…

_Zoro, at aged 15, had already left the Dojo to find the best swordsman in the world. He was young and foolish, thinking he could accomplish anything. He'd left his village and the island it was on, but hadn't gotten very far yet. He was getting by pretty well by collecting bounties, and now he'd made his way into the Kingdom of Goa._

What a rotten place this is,_ he thought to himself, glancing around. The high-ground seemed to be reserved for the Nobles, and the further down and into the outskirts of town you got, the more disgusting and corrupt the people were. But that suited Zoro fine. After all, where there was scum, there were bounties._

_Right now, he could really do with one of those bounties. He hadn't eaten in a few days (though he'd lost count of how many) and he really needed a meal. As he walked, he spotted a horrible looking place full of trash. While there were bound to be bounties there, he thought he might want to avoid it, so he walked along the wall, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone he'd seen on the bounty list near the centre of town._

_Everyone he walked past stared at him with wide, fearful eyes. They should be scared. Zoro had earned himself a name, after all. He was known as a 'Demon', not that he cared, but it was sure to strike fear in the hearts of the people he hunted down. All the same, the stares were starting to make him feel a little on edge._

_Before he could get very far, a group of men swaggered up to him, trying to use their height to intimidate him. Zoro, being 15, hadn't grown to his full potential yet, and was rather unpleasantly dwarfed by these men. Still, they didn't look too strong. If Zoro's vision would just stop swaying, he would be able to cut these guys down and be on his way._

"_Trespassing on our territory? You got some nerve, kid," One of the men growled down at him. Territory? That would explain the looks he'd been receiving; they knew he'd walked into some so-called "Badass" guy's territory._

"_I ain't looking for a fight," Zoro said, trying to be as intimidating as they were. It didn't help that his voice…hadn't broken yet. "If you'll just let me through, I won't have to cut you up…" But his actions didn't really back up his words as he swayed on the spot, brandishing his sword at them._

_They looked at each other and laughed, before one raised his fist and punched Zoro in the face. Zoro had tried to deflect it, but failed to react quickly enough. He was sent staggering backwards, but kept his balance, cursing._

"_Yeah, you're not so tough," Spat one man and punched him again. Zoro felt blood leak from his throbbing nose. Hopefully it wasn't broken. He growled in frustration and took a swing at someone. They batted the sword away by the flat and Zoro lost his balance, landing face-first on the mucky ground. A rough hand grabbed him by his collar and hauled him up, taking the sword away from him._

"_Let's take him back to boss, see what he says about what we should do with this guy," Suggested one of the thugs. There was a noise of agreement as he was dragged towards what must be their base. Once there, he was tied roughly to a pole outside the building, and beaten about a bit more in the process._

_One man took his swords off his hip, sheathing the one he'd been using earlier, and holding them up for inspection._

"_This is some nice shit he's got," He commented. "I bet we could make a load of money if we sold them." There were some laughs in agreement. Zoro looked at them through bleary eyes. One was puffed up where he'd been given a black eye._

"_Don't!" He croaked at them. That only made them laugh harder, slapping their hands on their knees._

"_D'you here that?!" One crowed, "He's begging!"_

"_How pathetic!" Another howled. They leered at him once more before turning their backs on him and heading inside. "Don't expect to see these again. Not that it matters what we do with them once Boss decides to kill you!"_

_Zoro was left feeling angry, humiliated, and on the verge of fainting._

_That had been on the Monday. On the Tuesday, Luffy (13) had finished lunch and was off to see Ace, like he did every day. That day, his mother had made him take an apple with him because Luffy didn't often eat healthy foods. It wasn't that he had anything against them, but meat was just so much tastier!_

_So he was nibbling on the skin of the apple as he strode along the path through the forest in the direction of Dadan's house. He glanced over to Grey Terminal as he went past. It was still there and still full of clutter and people. He looked at Bluejam's old hide-out as he went past it. He didn't know who was using it now, but people would always make use of uninhabited space. Whoever was the strongest in the terminal would get it._

_He paused, though, when he saw a man tied out front. He didn't look that great; he was covered in blood and his chin rested on his chest. What intrigued Luffy, however, was his impressive green hair. It looked cool, so he wanted to see it closer. Carefully, he picked his way across the mountains of trash, before jogging to the small, crumbled wall which separated the rest of the Terminal from the base._

_After seeing that there was no one but him and the green-haired man around, he hopped over the wall and shuffled up. The man grunted and looked blearily up at him. Once he saw that Luffy wasn't someone from before, he looked more alert and surprised. Then a grin spread over his face._

"_Hey, Kid," He said. Luffy scowled. Up close, he could see that this man was practically a kid himself, around Ace's age. He had no right to be calling Luffy a kid!_

"…_You okay, old man?" He countered. The man snorted._

"_I'm a little hungry. Feel like untying me? If not, then get out of here before you end up tied up too." Luffy tilted his head in thought. He wasn't very good at knots. But the guy sure did look hungry._

"_Why are you tied up anyway?" Luffy asked. He didn't like picking fights with the people in Grey Terminal without Ace by his side._

"…_Ambushed by the fuckers here," The man admitted. Luffy let out an unimpressed noise, irking him._

"_You can't be that strong then,"_

"_Look, I could take them right now! If I had my sword. And, you know, wasn't dying of hunger…" He sighed. Luffy lit up, intrigued._

"_Sword?" He prompted._

"_Yeah, it's really important to me and those assholes took it. They said they were going to sell it." No matter how casually he said that, Luffy didn't miss the undertones of worry in his voice and the way he pulled on his restraints. While Luffy mulled that over, he held out his apple to the man's face. "It's a nice one, with a white hilt… I don't care about any other sword, just that one," He muttered._

"_Oh. Here, have this," Luffy said. The man looked at him before trying to tug his hand free. Luffy waited patiently until the man finally reached out and took a bite, munching on it ruefully. Luffy beamed, turning the apple slightly so he could bite into a new bit. "I don't like apples," He explained, "Not enough meat on them." For this, he earned a snort._

_The man had gotten almost all the way through the apple (at some point he started eating ravenously, giving up all pretences of dignity), when the door from the hide-out creaked open._

_The man looked alarmed and stopped eating. "Shit, kid, hide!"_

_Luffy, startled, backed up and vaulted back over the wall, crouching down to hide. He dropped the almost-apple-core and considered his options._

"_Roronoa, we know who you are," The decidedly villainous voice on the other side of the wall said, sounding pleased with himself._

"_Yeah? I dunno who you are though, so you can go fuck yourself," Roronoa responded. Luffy had to suppress a snort and started to edge along the wall towards the forest. Once he reached the edge of his cover, he made a dash for the deeper forest, following the route he knew like the back of his hand. Once he arrived at Dadan's place, he opened the door to find Ace._

"_ACE!" He called out, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Ace's head popped out from the ceiling of the room where it connected to his bedroom._

"_You're late," He huffed. Luffy smiled and apologised hastily._

"_Sorry but there's a guy who's been caught by the guys in Bluejam's old base and I went to see who he was!" He said breathlessly. Ace folded his arms._

"_Why the hell are you going down there? It's not your business."_

"_No, but I liked the guy. They called him Roronoa… And, Ace, I have a favour to ask you," Luffy admitted, twiddling his thumbs. Ace raised an eyebrow expectantly."_

"_I know that Mum always says stealing's wrong, but I need you to steal something…" Ace looked intrigued with his admittion._

"_Nothing wrong with stealing," He pointed out, "But what did you have in mind?" He was grinning, pleased that Luffy was becoming more of a dare-devil._

"_Roronoa's sword… They took it from him, and they were going to sell it off," He said. I don't know the places in town where you'd sell a sword, but I thought you might know and would be able to get it back," He insisted. Ace tapped his chin thoughtfully._

"_You know, I think I know exactly where it would have gone. However," He gave Luffy a look which might have been a pout, "You have to promise me you'll spend twice as much time with me tomorrow." Luffy beamed and nodded._

"_Okay! We can spar more then! You know I like spending time with you," He smiled, grabbing Ace by the wrist and pulling him outside. He knocked into Dogra along the way, and yelled a hasty apology. Ace yelled that they'd be going into town and won't be back for a while._

_Together, they darted down to Grey Terminal and made their way across. As they went, they looked over at Roronoa, who had fresh blood dripping down his face._

"_That the guy?" Ace asked. Luffy nodded. "Looks like they beat him up."_

"_So we have to be even faster in helping him!" Luffy insisted and sped up. Ace hurried after him._

"_Wait up! You don't even know the way!" They slowed down slightly and slipped in through the gate to the Kingdom of Goa. There were a lot of back streets down on the outer edge where the normal civilians lived, with a lot of underground auctions and black markets. The place was terribly corrupt._

_Ace took him down some smelly alley-ways, to where there were crooked buildings and shifty looking people. Ace had once described them as "Too good for Grey Terminal, but too shitty for civilian life". Before, Luffy hadn't quite known there was an in-between. They were watched by these people as they went past. Ace just shot them nasty looks, so Luffy copied._

_Once they reached a building, Ace took him to the side where there was a small rectangular window above their heads. They couldn't see in it, because a bullet which had once gone through it had created cracks which distorted the image too much. Instead, because of the hole, they could hear inside._

"_This," Ace said in a quiet voice, "is where people go to exchange stolen quality items for money where they don't need ID. It's just give, get, and go." Luffy nodded slowly in understanding. Ace went on, "People from Grey Terminal can usually only come here to cash in their goods, because everywhere else kicks them out."_

"_So that's where these guys went?"_

"_Most likely. They wouldn't have hung onto the swords for too long, because something like that you gotta sell fast before someone else gets wind of it and tries to snatch it from you. You know how it is in the Terminal." Luffy nodded, because he really did know._

_From inside, they heard a door slam and heavy footsteps. "What a load of fuckin' bull," A man inside cursed._

"_Whassamatter, Gunbu baby?" Asked a female voice. The man grumbled and dropped something heavy on the floor._

"_Some asshole tried to give me fakes. Not only that, but he tried to swap them for a higher price than they would have been if they were real. Fuckin' nerve of that guy. I had him beat, teach him a lesson to mess with me. Shirako, what've you been up to?"_

"_Looking at this gorgeous thing. Where'd you get it?" She asked, tapping against something which sounded metal._

"_Some guys from the dump. They brought in two others but those weren't worth much. That one, though, that's Wado Ichimonji. Never thought I'd see such an important sword in my life." The man sounded pleased with himself as he threw open drawers and slammed them shut again._

"_How much did you give for it?" Shirako prompted. The man cackled._

"_Just five-thousand beli. I know it sounds a lot, but that thing's worth millions. The people who brought it in had no idea what it really was. Fuckin' amateurs," Gunbu laughed. Shirako laughed along with him._

_Luffy looked at Ace excitedly and hissed, "That's it! It must be it! Zoro said the sword was a white one. I bet it's that one because something which costs that much has to be pretty! And a white-hilt sword _would_ be pretty!" He explained. Ace stared at him before patting his head._

"_You're probably right. But you know, they don't base price on looks. Gee, bro, I thought you'd know not to put a price tag on a book based on its cover." Luffy stared at him blankly. Ace shook his head. "Never mind. Stay here, I'll go get it." With that, he slunk off._

_Luffy looked around for something which would get him high enough to see through the bullet hole. There was a bin which was overflowing with bags of rubbish, so Luffy dragged that over and balanced the lid on top, then balanced himself on all of that. There, he could see in. There was a fat woman with her back to him and a man by the door. He had greasy hair and a thick, walrus moustache, accompanied by a mustard coloured suit. The man, presumably Gunbu, opened the door and stepped through it._

"_I'll be right back. Don't you fuckin' touch any of my shit any more. Put the sword down!" He ordered before slamming the door shut and locking it. The woman, probably Shirako, dropped the sword into the seat next to her petulantly._

"…_Was just takin' a look, you don't have to bite my head off," She sniffed. "I swear, if he didn't earn so much I'd have left his sorry ass by now." She picked at her nails absently, looking agitated. Luffy felt bored watching and wondered when Ace would show up._

_No sooner had he thought that when there was a click and the door swung open. The woman looked up in surprise._

"_Back already, hun— Who're you?!" She screeched. Ace shut the door behind him and bolted towards her, smashing his pole into her mouth. She dropped to the floor, clamping her hands to her mouth in pain, but she wasn't making any more noise. Ace looked around, noticed the sword, and swiped it. The woman dragged herself to her feet, holding out her free hand in alarm, as though hoping to get it from him._

_Ace glared at her, smacking her again for good measure, before running out of the room. Not a moment later, Gunbu returned, looking baffled._

"_Who the hell was that?! And—" Once he got a good look at the room, his face went red. "What the _hell_ happened here?!" he demanded_

_Shirako took her hand from her mouth and burbled through the blood, "HE TOOK THE SWORD!" That was all Gunbu needed to hear before he was off, chasing after Ace. Luffy took that as his cue to hop off the trash bin and wait for Ace by the edge of the building. Sure enough, Ace was racing towards him a second later and Luffy didn't waste any time following him._

_Before they could escape from the road, Gunbu came roaring out of the building and begun to give chase. Luffy looked at Ace who was grinning, and began to smile. It was wrong to steal normally, but this felt thrilling! Taking things from bad guys! He laughed slightly and Ace shot a winning smile behind him. Once they got into the main crowd of people, they turned to head to Grey Terminal, losing sight of the man._

_They slipped through the gate and leaned against the wall, panting slightly._

"…_That was fun!" Luffy cheered. Ace grinned and held out the sword._

"_Yeah. But those guys sure left a bad taste in my mouth. But at least the ordeal also kinda makes up for missing out on today's sparring session. Here, this the one you wanted?"_

"_Yeah!" Luffy beamed, accepting it. Ace pushed his hat back and patted him on the head. Luffy beamed at him before turning to head to the base. "I'll go give this to Roronoa, then. See you tomorrow, Ace! And I promise we can have extra time to fight and stuff!"_

"_Be careful, Luffy!" Ace replied before turning to go back to Dadan's. Luffy hummed happily as he came up to the wall, flipping over it again. Roronoa groaned and looked up at him._

"_Oh, it's you. I wondered where you'd disappear to. I didn't think you'd come back," He admitted. Luffy smiled and held out his prize proudly. Roronoa's jaw dropped. "You got it back?! How?!"_

_Luffy giggled and tapped his nose, "It's a secret!" He laughed before running around to pull on the restraints around Roronoa's wrist. After it became apparent that the knot wouldn't become undone with just pulling, Luffy unsheathed the sword._

"_Hey, hey! Be careful with that!" Roronoa ordered. "Don't lop my wrist off or anything, be _very careful!"_ Luffy snorted and nodded._

"_I know, don't worry." He carefully used the blade near the hilt to saw through the ropes. Once one came undone the rest began to unravel. Luffy was about to work on the one around his waist too, but Roronoa stopped him, taking the sword and doing it himself. Once he was on his feet, he grinned._

"_Thanks, kid. I owe you, big time," He said. Luffy smiled._

"_Oi, who the fuck untied Roronoa?!" A man from the door demanded. Roronoa turned and grinned at him. Luffy readied himself for a fight too. They went for the man, and the men who streamed out once they heard the fight, and Roronoa's sword started hacking and slashing, and Luffy's fists slammed into anyone unfortunate to be targeted. Together, they defeated the men who came for them, who turned out not to be that big of a deal. Roronoa wasn't fighting very well, being hungry and beaten up, but he still managed to defeat them._

"_Turns out there's a bounty over the Boss's head," Roronoa smirked. "I'll collect that later, but for now, I think I'll raid their kitchen. Once more, thanks, kid…" He held out his hand and Luffy looked at it for a moment before delivering a high-five. Zoro stared at him before laughing. "Fine, get outta here."_

_Luffy smirked, turned, and ran back home (where he gave his mother a heart attack because he was covered in the bad guys' blood)._

Zoro had lapsed into a long silence, Sanji noticed. He elbowed the idiot to see if he'd react. Zoro did, jolting out of his memory, and scowled at him.

"What was that for, peanut head?!" He demanded.

"You still haven't answered my question, fuzzball!" Sanji yelled back. Zoro blinked and backed off slightly as he realised that he hadn't. He smiled; something which took Sanji by surprise.

"Ah. I'm not doing all this _just _because I owe him. He saved my life…and my treasure…" Zoro patted the white hilt resting comfortably on his hip. Sanji blinked in confusion. He really wanted to know what had happened, but Zoro struck him as a tight-lipped person when it came down to it. He seemed to only really open up to Luffy.

Speaking of Luffy, he'd become uninterested after a while and ran ahead, where he was now.

"Look guys!" He cried, pointing excitedly ahead of them. "There's a rock over there with a _big_ shadow! Let's stop there for a while, please? Before I melt!" He whined. Zoro nodded.

"Good idea, Luffy, let's rest." Nami looked between them in annoyance.

"It'd take even longer, you know." But she caught Luffy's pitiful expression and sighed. "Fine, go sit there. We'll be right over." Luffy brightened and ran off. Just before he reached the shade, though, his foot sank right into the sand.

"Whoa-!" Luffy yelped in surprise. Zoro looked over in alarm.

"What is it?!"

Luffy was busy trying to keep himself from sinking further by wriggling his foot out (now up to his ankle) but he overbalanced and fell to his knees, which also began to rapidly sink into the sand. Luffy looked around in a panic to see if there was anything he could get himself out with.

"Shit, quicksand!" Sanji exclaimed, running forward to reach the area around the rock, trying to gauge where the quicksand started so he wasn't caught in it either.

"Quicksand?!" Zoro yelled. "Luffy, stop wriggling, it'll make things worse!" He ordered. Luffy froze and looked at the four who came up to him, alarmed. Chopper was crouching, wary of being too close and dragged in too. Sanji was trying to see how far he could stretch his arm, but it wasn't enough. Zoro cursed and pulled Sandai Kitetsu off his hip, still in its sheath, and held the sheath-end to Luffy. He grabbed on and tried to pull himself out, but all that managed to do was dislodge the sword from its sheath. Luffy hastily let go again.

"Ugh, you guys call yourselves men, but you're both useless!" Nami moaned, pulling out three poles and connecting them. She held them out to Luffy who grabbed on. He was heavy and very much stuck in the sand now, and Nami pulled as hard as she could. There was a little progress where Luffy was pulled just slightly out of the suction of the sand, but the wood began groaning. Nami's eyes widened. "Damn no!" She cried, but the pole's end snapped off, leaving Luffy with nothing but the short pole part to hold onto. Nami tossed the now useless wood to the side in aggravation.

Luffy wanted to squirm but Zoro had told him not to, so he stayed as still as possible. Zoro cursed and tried to reach out. Luffy held out his hand to reach Zoro's but could not quite make it. If Zoro leaned any further, he'd fall into the quick sand too, and become one more person to save. Luffy was ready to scream. If only he could reach Zoro. If only his arms would just _stretch that much further_. As the sand reached Luffy's armpits, he began to panic.

"Don't you have any other ideas?!" He asked. Zoro gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Don't worry, I'll think of something…!" He assure, despite sounding on the verge of panic. Luffy 's chin was touching the sand now, and he held his breath in preparation. As he slid further down, he felt sand tickling his cheek and pressing up against his nostrils, threatening to go up them. There was also sand trickling into his ears. Luffy clamped his eyes shut as sand attacked them too.

It was cooler down here where the sun didn't hit the sand, but Luffy couldn't quite appreciate it at this point. He was officially in the sand; the only thing showing he was there on the surface was his arm, elbow up, clutching the broken pole.

_I'm done for,_ he thought to himself. _I'll die before I see Ace again. At least if I'm underground, Baroque Works can't get their hands on the key,_ he reasoned. At one point, he accidentally opened his mouth from his need to breathe, and sand poured in, grating against his tongue and teeth, gagging him. This was definitely one of the worst ways to die…fighting nature.

On the surface, Zoro was ready to dive in after him. "LUFFY!" He cried, trying to get to him, but Chopper kept getting in his way. Suddenly, a silhouette appeared standing majestically on the rock that Luffy had been running towards.

"Don't worry!" A man's booming voice rang through the air, "I'll get him out, leave it to me!" And something shot from the man. Zoro couldn't see what it was as it plunged into the sand, where they could still see the pole. It _looked_ like it might be a grappling hook, and it was attached to a chain. It grabbed Luffy's wrist and started to pull back, and Luffy, slowly, began to be pulled from his sandy coffin.

**TBC**

**A/N - Who do you think has appeared? Tell me in a review! Or just review in general, I'm a very lonely person.**

**Note: The names I used for the villains, Gunbu and Shirako, are names of food. Shirako is fish testicles with semen in them, and (Yartsa) Gunbu is Fungus Caterpillars... Hence Ace's comment once they'd run away. I make myself laugh.**


	10. Empowered

**A/N - I hadn't realised you were all such big fans of Usopp. Either that or you aren't fans, you just really think it's him. Either or. Anyway, this is being posted like two hours late. And do you know what else is going to be late? Next chapter. I'm skipping a week because I'm visiting my grandparents, who don't even have a computer, let alone wifi. On the other hand, I'll have plenty of time to write without distraction. Right. Thanks to Key, Yaoifan124, Aceisawesome, CrisStarTina, Neko11, xAlreadyOverx, and Starzzu (And by the way, I got that last review on my birthday. It was a fantastic gift) for your awesome reviews. I love you. 7 whole reviews for a chapter. Record.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 10**

Luffy was surely going to die if he sunk any further. It was a shame. He could even see his life flashing before his eyes. _Ace…Sabo…Shanks…_he'd known a lot of great people once. _And Zoro_. But now he'd die and would never be able to meet anyone knew. But before he could finish that thought, something solid closed around his wrist and started pulling against the suction of the sand. Luffy was going upwards. Hope, then? But who was it and how?

As his head emerged from the sand and the rest of him quickly followed, he heard someone new yell, "Nnngghhh…SUUUUPERRRRR!" And then he went flying. Sand clung to everything. It was in his hair and down his clothes and in his mouth. Luffy lay on the rock where he'd landed, coughing and gagging, trying to get the sand out of this mouth and throat. His eyes burned, his ears felt clogged, and he spluttered uselessly.

"LUFFY!" Zoro yelled, for once ignoring his urge to investigate this suspicious new individual in favour of throwing himself down by Luffy's side and pulling him against his chest. Luffy gagged and spat sand onto the ground. Zoro rubbed his back and tried to get rid of the sand sticking to his skin.

Sanji, once he was certain that Luffy was okay, turned to the person who had rescued him. "Who are you?!" He asked. The man jumped down from the rock and they could get a better view of him. Whoever he was, he was insane enough to walk around with only an open shirt and a pair of speedos for coverage against the sun. He also had blue hair which looked rather like an ocean wave.

Very much a strange person.

"OW!" The man exclaimed, which may have been a noise of excitement, and pulled a pose which involved throwing his arms above his head and smashing his massively swollen fore-arms together so that the star-shaped tattoos came together. To top everything off, he included a pelvic thrust. In all, they could conclude that he was a very eccentric guy. "My name is Franky! I was just passing through when I saw your predicament and thought I'd come to your aid."

"Thank you…" Luffy rasped, slowly recovering from his dip in the sandpit of death. Franky waved a hand as if to say 'Don't mention it' and went up to shake hands with them. Sanji took up his offer, introducing himself as the chef. Chopper, when Franky attempted to pet him, ran and hid behind Zoro and quivered. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Hey, ah, Franky, I'm thankful that you came to save us…" He said 'Us' because if Luffy had died, as would their quest and motivation along with him. "But what was that device you used to pull him out?"

"Oh? That was my hand."

"…Come again?" Zoro deadpanned.

"I'm a self-modified human. A cyborg!" Franky grinned, looking like he was ready to burst with information, as though he'd been waiting for the question to come up. "You see, my hand…" He twisted his wrist off to demonstrate, "is connected to the inside of my forearm through a chain on a reel which I can manipulate at will." Nami, as she watched, let out a yelp of horror at the detached appendage.

"A…" Luffy gasped, "A-A… AMAZING!" Making a quick and springy recovery, he leapt towards Franky, eyes alight with excitement. "You're a _cyborg_?! Like a mecha or something? That's so cool! What else can you do?!" He demanded as he ran around Franky in excitement. Franky looked pleased to have such an excited audience. Chopper popped out from behind Zoro to watch, clearly fascinated.

"What else? Only…THIS!" Franky grabbed a small, barely noticeable groove in his torso, throwing it open like it was a door, to reveal a portable cooler, which was packed with as many bottle of cola as he could fit.

"WOW!" Luffy shrieked in delight. His more sensible companions winced at the noise.

"IF YOU LIKE THAT," Franky said loudly, encouraged by Luffy's excitement, "THEN YOU'LL LOVE THESE!" And suddenly, he revealed gun barrels in his other wrist, which he pointed and fired into the direction no one stood in. Chopper was startled by the loud noise. Luffy started babbling in excitement, running around Franky.

"I bet you can do all sorts of things!" He enthused, "Like transform, or shoot cannonballs, or- or- Or shoot _beams_, can you shoot _beams_?!" He demanded. Franky scratched his head.

"Er- No, but I do have…" He pushed his shirt back, "…NIPPLE LIGHTS!" As the name promised, his nipples lit up. Luffy cheered and laughed. Zoro smacked his forehead and muttered "Why there?" while Sanji couldn't help but laugh, though he tried to supress it when Nami gave him a stern look. Franky switched his nipples off, looking pleased with himself. "In any case," He addressed them as a group, "Why are you five travelling by foot in this desert? And for that matter, why a _reindeer_?"

Zoro suspected that they would be asked that by everyone they met from now on.

"That's Chopper!" Luffy supplied unhelpfully, "And we're travelling by foot because we have feet and not… I dunno… Camels."

"Actually," Sanji interjected, "Giant crabs are new popular form of travel now. But we don't have one of those," He added.

"_Crabs_?" Luffy asked in disbelief, looking over at Sanji, who nodded.

"Oh yeah, they're these giant crabs which can hold a group of people, no problem. You just need one, instead of a whole bunch of them, like you would with camels." Franky nodded in agreement.

"Got that right. Mine's just behind that rock over there. It's empty now, but I was using it to transport some machinery to a village across the way." He jerked his thumb to the rock they first saw him stand on. Luffy lit up with excitement and dashed around the rock to take a look.

"OOH, check this out guys, he's right!" He informed them, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Zoro, curious, followed him to take a look too. Sure enough, there was a very large crab staring demurely at the ground, with a harness attached to him…somehow. He was massive, just like Franky said he would be, and the shiny shell reflected the sun almost blindingly. Zoro wondered how many people happened to slip off by accident while riding it.

"Oi, Franky," Luffy called, "Which village are you going to?"

"Ah, Alubarna. It's the only place on the island which even makes ships," He explained. "I'm a relative of the princess' – distantly, mind you, but it does mean I get to make the most of it and live in a comfortably large house and not have to worry about fees too much."

"P-Princess?!" Sanji interrupted. "You're related to the beauty of Alabaster, the gorgeous princess Vivi?!" He demanded. Franky shrugged, looking slightly unnerved.

"Er…yeah. Second cousin, or something like that. I don't know, I just call her sis."

"If we go with you, could I – well, we – meet her?!" He demanded, and they could practically see the hearts spewing from his ears.

"I can't promise you that, but if you're going the same way, I can give you a lift," He offered with a grin. Luffy lit up and nodded vigorously.

"I want to ride on the crab!"

"Alright then! Everybody, get on!" Franky cried, pointing a finger dramatically at the crab. Luffy whooped and clambered on, getting a good look at the view from a few feet higher than when he stood on the ground. Naturally, it was all just more sand, but Luffy seemed to be amused by it. Zoro looked around for Chopper and spotted him… Well, it _looked_ like he was talking to the crab, but he couldn't be sure. Either way, Zoro cut off their conversation by picking Chopper up and hauling them both onto the crab's back to join Luffy. Sanji climbed on and suavely offered Nami a hand up, which she gratefully accepted.

Once everyone was on, Franky hopped up to the front and grabbed the reins. "Right, let's GO!" He flicked them and the crab started speeding off in the direction they needed to go. Luffy cheered, arms in the air. The fast movement caused wind on their faces which was a refreshing change from sweltering heat and nothing else.

Sanji and Nami, though they hid it well, sometimes clenched their fists or trembled in excitement. Luffy recognised the signs of impromptu adventure and leaving the home you've known most of your life. After all, he'd just experienced it himself.

While they travelled, Franky and Luffy chatted excitedly. Sometimes about robots and cyborgs, sometimes about ships and sailing, and sometimes about Luffy's strange goal. They bonded immediately, throwing their arms around each other's shoulders and laughing jovially. The others would sometimes join in, and Zoro sometimes noticed Chopper listening intently and looking like he wanted to contribute to the conversation. Sadly, as a reindeer, he couldn't, so instead he lay on his side and panted while everyone else chatted.

Nami, it turned out, had a passion for maps and navigation, and had skills to predict the weather just through…instinct, or something. Luffy and Zoro weren't sure how she did it. Sanji, as they already knew, was passionate about food, but he was also very intent on the fact that he would never let anyone starve to death _ever_. Luffy liked his conviction, because he couldn't stand the thought of being without food (specifically meat) for long periods of time. He _almost _had to go without food while he, Zoro, and Chopper alone were travelling through the desert. But now that Sanji was with them, that wouldn't happen! He was glad for that.

They all got along well with Franky, it turned out. Luffy more than any of them, Chopper as well. Sanji and Zoro were quite jovial towards him, and Nami rather disapproved of his eccentric nature and occasional pervertedness, but she could look past that and befriend the man himself (and it had _nothing_ to do with the fact that he was related to filthy rich royalty at _all._ She swore).

In fact, they were getting along _so _well that nobody noticed the strange disturbance in the sand. It shifted and lumped up as something seemed to burrow underneath it. The first person to spot anything was Chopper, who stood upright and started sniffing the air in confusion. Zoro, who had noticed the reindeer acting strange, was immediately on alert.

Before anyone could react, however, a large worm-like creature burst from the sand. It _looked _like a cross between a worm and a scorpion's tail, and its end was pointed and no doubt poisonous. The crab skidded to a halt and each of the riders toppled off. Zoro, Luffy, Sanji and Franky immediately sprung into defensive positions. Nami and Chopper landed ungracefully on the sand, blinking in confusion and fear.

"I'd forgotten about those!" Nami said, voice wavering. She backed away and held out her (broken) wooden pole in defence. The worm, a fierce desert king, opened its mouth to reveal two fangs, around ten centimetres long. It gave an almighty roar and Zoro whipped out his swords, running at it. He didn't get far before its tail swung out of nowhere, flinging him backwards thirty feet, where he landed violently, bouncing off the ground a few times.

Luffy readied his fists, not quite sure how he was supposed to fight something that high up, and Sanji raised one leg in defence. Chopper hid behind Franky, his newly found human shield, since Zoro had been whipped away. The worm dived, instead of for any of the fighters, right at Nami. She shrieked and backed away quickly.

Sanji was there in an instant. "Like hell I would stand around and watch a lady be attacked!" He yelled to nobody in particular, and kicked at the monster's jaw. "Nami, get behind Franky! I'll handle this piece of shit worm."

Enraged, the worm dived for Sanji instead. He used his fancy footwork to smack it about, but when it started using its tail as well, he found himself on the defensive, dodging and avoiding the deadly sword-tipped tail and fang attacks as they came. Luffy wanted to help, but he couldn't get close enough. Similarly, Franky was having trouble aiming his gun (Which was in his _arm_, Luffy had paused to get excited about), because he couldn't risk hitting Sanji too.

Just as Sanji saw an opening, he aimed a kick at the monstrosity's neck. However, instead of feeling the satisfying crunch of flesh under his toes, he felt a searing pain in his thigh. The monster had whipped its head around at lightning speed and embedded its fangs into his leg as deep as they could go.

Sanji let out a strangled cry of pain as drops of blood splattered the ground like morbid rain. Those watching screamed, and distantly, Zoro had picked himself up and located his swords in the sand, and was now running back hurriedly.

"SHIT!" He yelled.

"SANJI!" Luffy shrieked.

"BRO!" Franky cried, readying his hand-grappling-hook in the hopes of pulling him to safety. Hopefully he wouldn't take off Sanji's leg in the process.

"Let me _go, shitty worm!_" Sanji yelled, smacking a fist on its nose. The worm tossed its head about in anger. Sanji was waved around with it like a rag doll, and his mouth hung open in a silent scream of pain.

Luffy saw red. He wasn't sure what he could do, but his head told him that it didn't matter. His chest burned, but who knew why. What did matter was Sanji. Because Sanji was his new friend and companion. He had just set out on his journey. Didn't the _worm_ know this? So he yelled.

"STOP IT! STOP IT, WORM! LET. HIM. _GO!_" His yell was so powerful that it knocked those around him to their knees. Zoro froze in his mad dash, and Chopper toppled over. Nami was knocked to the ground, hands on her ears. Franky was forced back too. The crab they had been riding fainted. And the worm, following the same reaction as the others, froze. Its mouth dropped open in surprise, and with a wet squelch, Sanji slid off its fangs and fell heavily onto Luffy, who had stretched out his arms.

The sudden weight in Luffy's waiting arms was a surprise and he was nearly knocked over too, but he held strong, and didn't let Sanji hit the sand. The worm, however, roared in what sounded like pain, thrashing its head madly before it crashed to the ground, unconscious.

There was silence for a few moments. Everyone slowly rose and looked around. Zoro was the first to come back to his senses, jogging the rest of the way there and looking at Luffy in confusion.

"What was _that_?" He demanded. Luffy looked at him in confusion.

"What was what?"

"_That_. That thing you just pulled. It was like a wave of energy, I don't know how you could miss it," Zoro tried to explain, using his hands to try to demonstrate. Luffy just blinked cluelessly at him.

"Never mind that," Nami groaned, standing up and brushing sand out of her hair, "How's Sanji? Is he okay?!"

Luffy blinked in remembrance and looked down at the dazed man in his arms. "…Wow, he's heavy!" He remarked and looked for somewhere to put him down. Turning around in a full circle, he spotted Chopper a little way away lying out three of the towels they owned. Walking over, he deduced by Chopper's expression that he should lie Sanji down on them, so he did.

Everyone flocked around him as he groaned and regained his senses.

"Bro?" Franky verbally nudged.

"…Sanji?" Nami prompted, "How do you feel?"

Sanji took a deep breath and pushed himself up, releasing his breath in a heavy sigh. He pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one, taking a long, soothing drag on it before responding.

"Like shit. But don't mind me," He waved a hand, "At least the sweetest angel that is Nami Swan is safe!"

Zoro rolled his eye. "Oh, he's fine if he's acting like a love-sick idiot," He snorted.

"What was that?!" Sanji demanded, "Rich coming from you!"

"What the hell do you mean by _that_?!" Zoro demanded, raising a sword. "I'll cut you up, spaghetti hair!"

"Bring it on, Seaweed wrap!" Sanji countered, lifting his one uninjured leg dangerously.

"Are they running out of insults?" Nami asked mildly, relieved that Sanji seemed to be fine enough to argue.

Chopper shook his head in exasperation. Franky ignored the bickering and opened one of his thick forearms, pulling out a roll of bandages before getting to work, fixing up the nasty injury. Luffy had gone off, ignoring the conversation completely in favour of scratching his name into a pebble with another, sharper pebble.

"Franky," Nami turned to him, "how do you know about first aid?"

"Oh, it was learn or die," Franky said in way of explanation. That caught everyone's attention and their necks snapped towards him curiously. Franky explained, somewhat awkwardly, "See this?" He rapped his chest, creating a slight clanging sound, "I didn't do this because it was cool – well, I sort of did, but that's not the point – I gained a massive injury which would have killed me. Lost several important bits too. But I fixed me up and replaced the bits with scrap metal, staunched the bleeding, sewed myself up… You get the drift," He finished, rubbing the back of his neck. Luffy stared at him in awe.

"Amazing!"

"Hardcore," Zoro muttered, looking approving. Nami looked like she was going to provide sympathy, but when Franky started preening from the compliments, she just shook her head in exasperation.

Once Sanji was fixed up, he tried to start making something for everyone to eat, but Franky's large hands clamped down on him and eased him to stop despite his protests. He, along with Nami and Chopper, proceeded to fuss over him unnecessarily, insisting that he lie down and take a nap. It was starting to get dark anyway, and the crab had been knocked out by the…mysterious force from earlier. Franky decided to set up a tent, and they all huddled inside it.

"This is a little…cosy," Nami pulled a face as she curled into a corner.

"Namiiii!" Sanji called, "If it weren't for my leg, I would let you have all the space in the tent. But I can't, so instead, how about you lay your precious, delicate head on me for comfort and space!" He suggested – as though, as Zoro put it, he was spewing hearts from his mouth. And it was sickening.

Nami politely declined, looking displeased at the suggestion that she was delicate. "However, I do agree that we all need some rest," She said, "Since it's been a pretty exciting day. We've only just set out and already Luffy was nearly sucked up by quick sand, and Sanji's been injured by a desert king…"

"We should rest now so we can keep our wits about us for tomorrow," Zoro summarised. Nami nodded. "Fine, but someone should keep watch. We dunno if someone else will cross our path during the night, or worse yet, another damn creature like that."

"I'll do it!" Luffy suggested, "I'll keep a look out!"

"If you're sure…"

"Yup!"

So that was that. They had some food and some drink and settled down for the night. Luffy situated himself at the opening of the tent and had a good view of the crab, and stretches of desert. Of course, it only lasted an hour after the sun set before he keeled over asleep.

Zoro shook his head in exasperation before dragging Luffy into the tent making sure he was comfortable before taking his place. He wasn't sure what that earlier blast had been, but whatever it was, it had wiped Luffy out more than he probably realised. From inside, he could hear Sanji laughing under his breath. So he was still awake and had seen Luffy's failure to stay awake.

"You've bagged yourself an idiot there," He chortled.

"Whatever _that_ means," Zoro snapped back, rolling his eye. Sanji didn't respond to that, just kept on laughing. Zoro shushed him in case he woke anyone up. After a few moments of silence, though, Sanji piped up again.

"Still, you two go well together."

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked apprehensively.

"Well…Red and green. You're Christmas decorations!" And he dissolved into quiet fits of laughter again. Zoro smacked his forehead.

"That's it, the bloodloss has gone to your head. Get some sleep and stop bothering me," He shooed, unimpressed. Sanji chuckled sporadically for a few more minutes, before heaving a deep sigh and finally getting to sleep. Zoro sighed in relief and turned to face outwards again. For some stupid reason, Sanji's words kept reverberating around his skull.

"_You go well together."_ Yes, they did. Couldn't deny that. When the going gets tough they don't have to say much to understand each other. That had been established years ago.

"_You go well together."_ Aesthetically too, they did match pretty well. Though they don't look much alike, with himself being muscly and large, and Luffy being shrimpy and skinny, they either clashed with each other, or complimented each other. Not that it mattered to Zoro.

"_You go well—"_ Yes, they'd established that already. The words wouldn't leave Zoro's head though, and he continued to think about them and the deeper meaning they could hold for the rest of the night. When morning came Zoro was about ready to fall asleep, and that was what he did, on top of the large crab while the rest of them packed away and climbed aboard as well. No one questioned why Luffy was asleep and Zoro wasn't, they just let it be.

And that was how it was as they slowly resumed their journey to Alubarna. Sanji's leg was feeling a little better and Luffy was full of energy again, and he and Franky talked animatedly for the whole journey. Zoro did his best to tune them out, but Luffy's voice always seemed to penetrate his brain no matter what he was saying or to whom he was saying it. Nami was tracing a map with her finger thoughtfully and Sanji was obediently lying on his back so as to give his leg a rest, despite his insistence that he was perfectly fine (and chopper played the part of his pillow).

This stayed that way until the afternoon was upon them, and suddenly Luffy was leaping up in excitement, pointing towards something in the distance. "Look! I see it! I see it!" He cheered. Zoro cracked open an eye, squinting in the direction.

"Yeah, it's about time we reached it," Franky noted, nodding.

"Ugh, finally!" Nami huffed. "I really look forward to having a cool bath." In response to that, Sanji made an odd high-pitched noise. Nami rolled her eyes, used to his behaviour.

"Me too. I'm sick of this desert. At least a desert town has sufficient shelter," Zoro grumbled.

"And shops!" Nami pointed out delightedly. "A market place for bartering so you can get the best prices on cute clothes!"

"And meat!" Luffy added on.

"Anyway, speaking of shelter," Zoro said loudly, "Where are we going to stay?"

"Aw, don't worry about that. You guys sure have grown on me in a short time," Franky said, waving a hand dismissively, "so I would be happy to let you stay at my place for the time being."

"You mean it?!" Luffy asked excitedly. Franky nodded.

"Indeed. Your story has reached my heart!" He whipped out a handkerchief and dabbed at his suddenly moist eyes, "A tale of determination and family. Of love and loss! Of goals, and the very fate of the world!" He shook his head, taking a moment to sigh dramatically. "Of course…It makes me want to sing about its beauty! Ah-…" He paused in the midst of getting out a guitar from his luggage. "But that's not the point. What I mean to say is that, given the magnitude of your quest, I'd be happy to assist you in any way I can, including sharing my lodgings with you for the duration of your stay."

"That's a relief," Sanji said seriously, "We'll be staying in the house of one of the Princess' relatives." Nami bashed him on the head.

"That's all you care about?!"

"A-Ah…I've been punished by an angel…" Sanji muttered. Nami shook her head and sighed. Zoro snorted. Sanji shot up and glared at him. "Got something to say, Moss head?!"

"Nah, nothing I could say would help you now," Zoro smirked. "You're beyond all help."

"Eeh?! Say that to my face, asshole!"

"What, you didn't hear?! Something wrong with your ears, cheese ball?!" Zoro retorted, sitting upright and glaring challengingly at Sanji.

"You two…" Nami growled, "Knock it _off_!" Suddenly both of them had been knocked clean off the crab and lay sprawled on the sand.

"WITCH!" Zoro yelled after her, but the crab continued on into the distance, and left Sanji and Zoro to walk the rest of the way in silence, glaring at each other. Thankfully, though, Luffy and Chopper were waiting on the border for them so that they could go to Franky's house together.

**TBC**

**A/N - I bet some of you can see where this is going now. I'm sorry I'm so cliched.**


	11. Sly

**A/N - is it bad I wrote some of this stuff so long ago I can't quite remember what's in them? Like, weeks ago. I have a bad memory. Anyway, guys! I'm back! Thanks to Aceisawesome, Key, yaoifan, CrisStarTina, and FlightWulf! Your reviews make me so happy.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 11**

Everyone had been settled eventually. No one got _too _lost and everyone who did (that was, _just Zoro_) was found quickly and brought to Franky's place. Everyone was excited to meet the princess, even though Franky repeatedly told them that she was probably not going to even turn up, because princesses had duties and were too busy to meet a rag-tag group like them. No one listened to his insisting, though.

In the meantime, it was decided that they were going to gather supplies. Sanji had gone out despite the fact that he was limping slightly, because he insisted that as the appointed chef, he was responsible for food supplies, and wouldn't trust anybody else (except dearest Nami, who he wouldn't force to do footwork) to do it right.

Luffy had also gone out, though for no particular reason. There were market stalls and open shops selling interesting things. Everyone looked so cheerful and friendly, so Luffy couldn't help the smile on his face as he meandered aimlessly around. The atmosphere was pleasant, and in the town square there was a man playing the accordion for spare change, and Luffy found himself swaying to the tune. He simply adored music.

He found many things as he browsed the stalls, but one in particular caught his attention. There were what looked like sparkly rocks twinkling innocently up at him in a number of different colours. A white nugget was labelled "Milky Opal" and was small enough to fit in his fist. It went on with Adventurine, a blueish rock, Jasper, a marble-like slab of greens and whites, Sodalite, which looked like a pretty blue icicle, and the one which _really_ caught his eye was labelled Fluorite, and was an uncut rock of purpleish-black speckled with white. Luffy found that, the more he stared at that one, the more it felt like he was gazing into the night sky.

It reminded him of the nights under the stars he'd spent with Zoro. Those were some of his favourite times, and he was enthralled with the rock as a result. Maybe he could buy it for Zoro! But the price was ridiculously high; there was no way he could afford it. The fluorite twinkled at him in the same way the sky did, and Luffy nearly gave in and grabbed his money pouch right there, but held back.

He was disappointed, because he was pretty sure he hadn't given Zoro anything, except for the sake at the restaurant while he was recovering. He really wanted to give Zoro a…a thing. Anything! Something for Zoro to think of him by!

Then a thought struck him. When they were on the farm, Zoro stole food for him, and nothing bad happened then. Maybe, if it was for Zoro's sake, and because he _really_ couldn't afford it…just taking _one_ won't hurt…right? As if to tempt him, the person running the stall had fallen asleep underneath his newspaper, making his products easy targets.

Luffy grit his teeth, making up his mind. If it was this once, it wouldn't be bad. No one would have to know. He'd tell Zoro he found it (never mind that he couldn't lie to save his life). Nodding to himself decisively, Luffy sidled closer and hovered his hand over his target. His heart thumped in his chest, loud enough to block out any sound around him.

Just a little closer… He picked up the rock like he was just inspecting it. His breathing was heavy and sounded so loud, so much more so than his heart, that he was sure that it would wake up the sleeping vendor and he would be caught.

Luffy was sure eyes were upon him and people would swoop down on him the moment he slipped the rock in his pocket, but still he drew it closer to his body, curling his fingers to hide as much of it from view as possible.

Before he could get any further, however, someone crashed into him from behind. Luffy's heart sped up and his mind went wild. _They've found me! They really swooped down! I'm done for! I'll be arrested! Help!_ But what was more important was the fact that both he and his apparent attacker went crashing into the stall, bringing it down. The rocks flew everywhere, and the one in Luffy's hand went flying right into the snoozing vendor's face, promptly waking him up.

Luffy snapped his head around, almost giving himself whiplash, to yell at the person who'd crashed into him, but his head's journey was stopped when a long nose jammed into his cheek. Luffy blinked and wriggled.

"Oi, get off! Who are you?! What the hell!" He demanded. The person hastily scrambled off him and looked around wildly. Luffy stood up and brushed the dirt off his red vest, puffing his cheeks out indignantly. "Answer my quest-!"

He was cut off by the person – a boy with tan skin and the aforementioned long nose – shushing him hastily then grabbing his wrist. Luffy barely had any time to yell out before he was yanked hastily into an alleyway and pulled against the wall with a hand over his mouth.

"Mm-mmm…!" Luffy protested.

"Shhh! Please, please be quiet for a few minutes!" The person whispered frantically at him. Luffy was bewildered but shut up when he heard the person he had previously been attempting to rob start ranting and stomping around, threatening whoever the hell destroyed his stall with the promise of a painful death via choking. Luffy definitely had no desire to be caught.

While they hid in the shadows, a tall, black-haired man breezed past ominously. Luffy felt the boy quiver and try to fit himself behind Luffy further. Whoever that man was, he must pose a threat to the strange boy.

After a few long minutes had past, and the creepy man had slunk away after being unable to find the boy, Luffy wriggled out of his grip and turned to look at him fully. The boy had bushy black hair and wide eyes which looked permanently in fear, and he wore light overalls with puffed out legs and brown boots. Luffy's eyes snapped back up to the boy's face to stare at the incredibly long nose for a few moments.

The boy shifted uncomfortably under his gaze so he dropped his head to stare at the floor.

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy asked, sounding a little friendlier than he had last time. The boy jumped before grinning and pointing a thumb at himself.

"I'm the great Captain Usopp, leader of 8000 men, soldier, sailor, veteran…" He rattled off dramatically. Luffy's eyes widened in awe, but faltered slightly as the list went on.

"You really earned all those titles at your age? How old are you?" He asked.

"Ah—17…" Usopp said sheepishly. "What's your name anyway?"

"Monkey D. Luffy! Pleased to meet you," Luffy supplied with a grin, gripping the rim of his strawhat out of habit. Usopp nodded in acknowledgement. "So, who was the guy you were hiding from?"

"Oh, him… Can you keep a secret?" Usopp leaned in conspiratorially, and Luffy nodded, drawn in. "He's an agent for this mysterious company, Baroque Works, and he's out to get me. I gotta go into hiding just to get away." Luffy's eyes grew twice their size in excitement.

"Really?! Baroque Works is coming after me too! That's so cool!"

"No, it's not…" Usopp cut in. Luffy ignored him and continued.

"If you need to hide somewhere, you should do it with us! I'm on the run, see! It's a long, weird story, but I'll tell you it later if you want." Never mind that Zoro had previously told him not to give out information at random, this Usopp guy seemed nice enough despite the fact that he grabbed Luffy very rudely.

"B-But I don't even know you…" Usopp said hesitantly. Luffy pouted.

"You need to make up for slamming into me like you did," He insisted. "Besides…I have Zoro, and he can defeat anyone, so he can keep you safe! I just need to ask him and he'll say yes."

Usopp looked torn. "Well, I don't have anywhere to stay…and I could do with protection…" It didn't go unnoticed that his knees were knocking together. "But…what if he defeats _me_?"

Luffy blinked before laughing loudly. Usopp hurriedly hushed him in case the man from before came back.

"Just relax," He chuckled, "Zoro won't hurt you. I promise. Come on!" Luffy grabbed his wrist and started ambling out of the alley on the other side. Usopp had no choice but to follow behind him. Luffy knew exactly which way he was going, despite only having been at the house once, because it was right next to the big castle-like place which stuck out over the horizon.

"Okay…so what were you doing by the market anyway?" Usopp asked to make casual conversation. Luffy looked at him the away, eyes shifting to the side suspiciously.

"Nothiiing…"

Usopp side-eyed him warily but didn't press.

While they walked, Luffy told Usopp all about his companions he'd picked up along the way, though he didn't really go into detail about Chopper, Nami, and Sanji, preferring to rave about the awesome Cyborg he found, and his best friend Zoro (He'd just decided that Zoro was his best friend at that moment but it was very true). Usopp listened politely, but couldn't help but notice that they walked right past the residential area of the town and were getting uncomfortably close to the castle.

"Oi…" He nudged Luffy tentatively, "Wh-where is it you're staying again?"

"Over there!" Luffy pointed out. Usopp clammed up.

"…Why…? Isn't that where rich, important people stay?"

"I dunno if Franky is rich or important," Luffy laughed, "But he's the Princess' relative, so of course he lives somewhere cool!" Usopp screeched to a halt.

"Wait- _that_ Franky?! _Neterfari_ Franky? You're staying with him?!"

"I…guess?" Luffy scratched his head. He'd never learned Franky's last name, though he might have mentioned it when Luffy wasn't paying proper attention…

"You're staying with the princess' relative…D-Did…" He hesitated before drawing himself up and a change seemed to come over him. "Did you know that I've met six Princesses in my short lifetime?" Luffy's eyes grew round with excitement.

"Really?!"

"Yeah, and I rescued three of them from evil villains. Why, I was just at the tender age of three when I slew a mighty dragon to rescue the fair Princess of, uh, Boran country in North Blue!" He proclaimed, finger raised for extra dramatic effect.

"Wow!"

Luffy listened attentively for the rest of the trip back, with Usopp talking animatedly about his brave ventures through blistering winds and scorching deserts, going against many strong foes and defying all odds. Luffy's eyes were round and full of admiration, and before they knew it, the two were facing Franky's front door. Usopp's mouth shut immediately, cutting off one of his tall tales.

Since they didn't have a key, Luffy knocked on the door repeatedly until someone let him in. That someone happened to be Nami, who wrenched the door open, looking murderous. Usopp cowered behind Luffy somewhat.

"Stop knocking, good god! You're going to give me a migraine! …Who's that?" She questioned when she spotted Usopp peeking out from Luffy's shoulder. Luffy grinned and pushed him forward roughly.

"This is Usopp! He's being chased too!"

Nami seemed distressed by this new information. "You brought _another _wanted man back?! Urgh! I don't want to deal with that."

"Yeah, but listen!" Luffy pushed past her and in through the doorway, pulling Usopp with him. "He's being chased by Baroque Works, like I am! Isn't that cool?"

"No it's not!" Nami cried.

"Huh. Usopp said the same thing." Luffy scratched his head in confusion.

"Maybe," A new voice spoke up with a growl, "He's lying."

Luffy brightened considerably when he saw Zoro emerge from the living room, looking like he'd just woken up from a nap. Despite that, his eyes were fully alert and he'd already drawn one of his katana.

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, tilting his head.

"I mean, what if he's a Baroque Works spy?" Suddenly, the sword was against Usopp's throat, and he whimpered in fright. Zoro nudged him backwards and into the living room by his sword until the back of Usopp's knees hit an arm chair and buckled, causing him to fall ungracefully into it. Zoro withdrew his sword just enough that the sudden drop wouldn't slice his neck, then the blade was right against his flesh again.

The others had followed them into the room and Franky and Chopper had come to see what the commotion was all about. Luffy was very uninformative, being more interested in picking his nose, so Nami quietly filled them.

"Spill," Zoro demanded. Usopp quivered and dared to nod ever so slightly against the blade.

"Zoro!" Luffy berated, "Don't cut _him_ up."

Zoro turned to look at Luffy for a moment before grunting in acknowledgement and pulling his sword away. Usopp let out an audible sigh of relief, but stayed tense. After all, Zoro hadn't yet sheathed his sword. "Ok, _now_ spill."

"Ok…right." Usopp took a deep breath before diving into his explanation. "You see, I come from the humble Village of Syrup, across the desert. I lived a happy life with my friends Carrot, Onion, and Pepper, and sweet Kaya."

Luffy, sensing a good story coming on, sat cross-legged on the floor, staring up at Usopp with rapt attention. Chopper quickly joined him. Usopp fumbled in his story at the unexpected appearance of a reindeer, but persisted.

"Well, uh…" He twiddled his thumbs, "See, Kaya's a rich girl who was looked after by her butler, Klahador, after her parents died. I never trusted the guy, because he hated me for no reason. I dunno, maybe I was just biased because he kept trying to keep me from Kaya. But then one night, a week ago maybe, I overheard him from the shore – I was up on the cliff edge, out of sight – and I heard him talking to another guy. This new guy, I heard him talking about a company called Baroque Works—"

"We know what that is!" Luffy interrupted excitedly. Zoro's shoulders were a lot tenser at the knowledge that Usopp knew of Baroque Works. Usopp quailed at the sudden shift when Zoro brought his sword up slightly, as a reminder that it was still there and very much a threat.

"Yeah, you mentioned earlier."

Zoro whacked Luffy on the back of the head. "Don't just go _giving out_ that information, dumbass."

"Sorry Zoro."

Usopp waited until he was sure he could continue, then, much more into the story-telling, went on, "I heard them talking about finding 'One of them' but 'he escaped with a companion' and that they 'plan on sending re-enforcements to collect them'. Honestly, I couldn't hear everything from my vantage point, but I could see Klahador holding up a picture of someone and the other guy nodding before they burned it…" He shrugged, "I'm not really sure."

Zoro huffed through his nose. He had little doubt that this Klahador bastard was talking about Luffy and himself, which wasn't surprising, but he took it as reason for concern anyway.

"…But when I tried to leave," Usopp went on, "I slipped and fell off the cliff. Luckily, I landed in sand and survived, but my arm's been hurting really bad ever since.

"Klahador and his friend saw me and panicked, saying that their boss would be displeased if someone overheard and started spreading information about their plans, and pulled out these weapons. The companion had a razor-disk thing on a string, and Klahador had a glove with long claw-like swords on the fingers!" He held up his hand like a claw, as though it added to the story, and in response Luffy gasped with excitement.

"What did you do then?!" He almost whispered in anticipation.

"Ahh, if it had been one-on-one, of course I would have stayed to fight, but as it stood, I was outmatched, so I pulled out my trusty sling-shot!" He pulled out a navy blue stick with a circle on top, which had elastic bands lining it. It didn't look like the typical sling-shot. At the move he made to retrieve it, Zoro had almost stabbed at his hand right then and there at the sudden movement, expecting him to retrieve a much more dangerous weapon.

"Wooow!" Luffy praised.

"Y-Yeah. So I fired a pellet which caused a smoke-screen and made my daring escape. The guy with the ring lashed out at me a few times! I've even got the marks to prove it." He pulled the dungarees he was wearing down slightly, and they could see a couple of cuts across his side. "But he didn't follow me. Klahador _did_ though, and he kept trying to swipe me with his claws, but I gave him the slip! Escaped him while I could and ran back home to grab some essentials; water, food, and a blanket, and I ran out of the city…" He paused, inhaling deeply and closing his eyes, "quietly leaving behind the village, and my good friends there, so that I wouldn't put them in danger…

"I dove into the desert and got a good distance away from him, but I don't know how he knew where I was going, and followed me here. I could barely stop to sleep for fear that he would find and catch up to me." And it showed, in the dark circles under his eyes which Luffy hadn't noticed before. "…and here I am. So far, he hasn't found me yet, but it's only a matter of time before he finds and kills me." Usopp ended.

Zoro slowly re-sheathed his sword, convinced when he saw the marks Usopp had attained. People may lie, but generally didn't deprive themselves of sleep and injure themselves for the sake of a cover-up. Those from Baroque Works had too much pride to resort to such methods.

"Quite the enthralling tale," A new person said from the doorway. It was a woman, so it wasn't Sanji's return, and it made them all jump out of their skin. A blue-haired girl stood in the doorway, smiling softly.

"Ow!" Franky exclaimed, flicking his wrist in her direction, "Vivi-sis! I didn't know you were visiting!"

"Hello, Franky. These are your friends, yes?" Nefertari Vivi, aka _the Princess_, asked. Franky nodded, motioning to Luffy.

"I'm helping this boy, Luffy, and his friends escape the clutches evil!"

"Oh?" Vivi walked up to them, and Zoro took it upon himself to fill her in on the journey so far. She listened with a serious expression, nodding every now and then. "So Franky, you're helping them escape? That's so kind!"

"Heh, well…" Franky waved a large hand abashedly.

"In that case, I would love to help arrange a form of transport from here on out. Which way will you be headed?"

"Oh," Luffy raised a hand, "We're gonna go to the sea! We're going…left? Y-Yeah, we're probably going left. West is left, right?"

"We'll be headed towards the grand line," Nami cut in quickly, before Luffy could confuse himself any further. "I'm going to be Navigating. I have a little experience with navigating on water, and I'm very efficient with predicting the weather."

"I wish you luck on your journey," Vivi smiled.

Just then, the door swung open with Sanji on the other side, sporting many packages of shopping in his arms which he'd been spending the last few hours collecting. "Oi, bastards (and wonderful Nami!), I'm back. I had to take into consideration the kind of diet required for the seas so we'll be eating a lot more vegetables- don't whine Luffy." He kicked the door shut and placed the bags on the ground, rubbing his muscles.

"What's the matter, dartboard brow, can't handle the weight with those stringy muscles of yours?" Zoro taunted, looking at him through the doorway of the living room.

"What was that?!" Sanji demanded, rising to the bait and sauntering up to him. "Shitty green crayon, I'll—Who is _that_?" He gasped, abruptly cutting himself off when he caught sight of Vivi. "Such a wondrous sight; have I perhaps stumbled upon an angel descended from heaven? An ethereal being beyond human comprehension?" He fell to one knee and grabbed the nonplussed princess' hand. "Ahh, sweet lady, would you let a mere mortal such as myself know your name?"

"Ahh… Nefertari Vivi, it's a pleasure to meet you," Vivi said, nonplussed.

"Vivi, the very name tastes sweeter than nectar on my lips—wait. Nefertari Viv, the _princess_?!" He jumped to his feet in surprise. Franky cut in, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Yeah, the Princess, so you had best lay off her," He threatened.

"Franky, don't be so harsh," Vivi berated. Franky looked between them then promptly turned towards the door.

"I'll be happy to go prepare a sweet treat for you, my dear, so please wait for me~!" and then he was gone, in a burst of hearts. There was a short silence, then Chopper hopped up from his sprawled position on the floor and trotted happily after him, rather confused and oblivious to what had just happened.

"…He didn't even notice me," Usopp whispered in confusion. Luffy laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Weird pervert-cook," Zoro muttered before flopping on the couch to take a nap.

"Well, I best go fill him in on the situation, then everyone will be up to date," Nami decided, going after Sanji to the kitchen.

After that, Vivi and Franky left to look at the most suitable ships for six people who need to travel fast. Luffy decided in their absence that Usopp could stay with them during the night. Usopp pointed out that he wasn't allowed to just use a spare room without permission. Luffy decided that Usopp could sleep in his bed with him. From the couch, there may have been a low growl which went right over Luffy's head, but was definitely caught by Usopp.

"Er, no, no, I'll just ask Franky if it's ok to use a room, or a couch or something, when he comes back…" He trailed off nervously. Luffy shrugged, oblivious.

The night went by with Usopp in his own guest room (because Franky assured him that it wasn't "super" to leave a friend of Luffy's to have a terrible night on a couch when there were plenty of comfortable beds to spare; and goodness were they luxurious, Usopp had to appreciate them for how expensive and comfortable they were). In the morning, everyone devised plans for the day around a breakfast, and worked out when it was best to head out. "The sooner the better" was thrown around, though no one knew just how soon that was.

Because of that, everybody kept their belongings (food included) packed by the back door and ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice. In the meantime, Luffy insisted Usopp go out with him so that they could look around town, since yesterday he was rudely interrupted, and by Usopp no less. Zoro said he'd go with them this time because he didn't want to spend all day inside. They offered to take Chopper with him, but he seemed to quail at the thought of pushing through such packed crowds again in such a hot country.

While they walked, Luffy insisted they looked at the assortment of strange and interesting trinkets in the market and in shop windows, becoming fascinated with everything he came across. Usopp was still rather nervous about being near Zoro, but he didn't care and walked more slowly and lazily behind the group.

"You know, Usopp, it's your fault I didn't get anything yesterday," Luffy berated. "I wanted to get something important, and you interrupted."

"Ah, sorry…" Usopp apologised, though he wasn't sure if he should or not. "What was it you were going to buy?"

"I…don't know." Luffy wasn't even going to buy what he wanted, but he wasn't sure he should be pointing that one out. Stealing still made him uncomfortable, despite his earlier attempt. "But it has to be important."

"Well, if you don't _know_, then it can't be important," Usopp reasoned. Luffy shook his head rapidly.

"No, that's not it, you don't _get_ it. It'll be important because I wanted to-" He paused and lowered his voice, aware of Zoro right behind them, "I wanted to buy something _for_ someone, and for it to be a special something. You know?"

"Ooooooh," Usopp nodded in understanding, glancing over his shoulder at the swordsman. It was pretty damn obvious those two were more fond of each other than anyone else. Based on what he'd been told of their history together, they had a deeper connection. That, or he could be seeing something that wasn't actually there.

Luffy nodded and resumed looking at the items for sale. They had wondered pretty far; the docks were close by, where countless boats of various sizes were anchored, and some larger ships. He glanced over and idly wondered which one they'd be using. Whichever it was, it had to be large enough to fit their 'crew'.

"Hey," Usopp nudged him, "Check that shop out. It's some pretty neat architecture, huh?"

Luffy looked over to the shop Usopp was referring to. It was apparently a chemist's, running a small surgery at the back. The overall appearance Usopp was referring to was very macabre, with peeling paint illustrations and intricate carvings. It was nice, Luffy supposed, but it wasn't colourful enough for him.

"Not enough red," He grunted.

"…Luffy, no one – and I repeat _no one_ – should paint _red_ on a surgery," Usopp stressed. Take it from the artistic one, after all (and yes, Usopp was quite the artist. Why, he had been painting masterpieces since he was old enough to walk).

Zoro had tuned into their conversation at that point. Since the apothecary experience back in the other town, Zoro had become very untrusting of medicine stores. In fact, simply standing near the store sent chills down his spine.

_Wait, no_… He paused, shaking his head. It was not the store that was giving him the feeling. It was something else. The 'something' niggled at his mind, telling him that something was not right. In fact, now that he looked around properly, he could see that they'd walked to the edge of the town, which was a feat considering it was very large, and Luffy hadn't seemed to stop once to complain about hunger.

But anyway, the niggling sensation told him to look up. _Towards the rooftop. _He craned his neck, hiding his face from the glaring afternoon sun which bore down on them.

"Oi," He called out to the other two, who stopped abruptly to look around at him. "There's something…or some_one_ up there." He motioned upwards and Usopp and Luffy followed his lead by looking up too. They couldn't see anything at first, but the more Luffy stared, the more he felt he could sense someone.

All so suddenly, his chest burned, in the same manner it had when he'd been facing off against that desert king, and he instinctually knew, suddenly, exactly who and where the someone Zoro was talking about. A silhouette leapt off the edge, and in a flash, Luffy had pulled Usopp out of the way, because somehow he _knew_ where the man was going to land. Once the man had done so, and straightened up, the burning sensation ebbed away, and he could get a proper look at who had joined them.

"You must be terrible at hide-and-seek," A snide voice drawled, and it was coming from the man with slicked-back hair and round spectacles.

"Klahador!" Usopp yelped, half hiding behind Luffy.

"That was my butler name, but I have long since abandoned my persona. It's Kuro to you, and thank you for leading me straight to the very man my boss wanted to find."

**TBC**


	12. Rushed

**A/N - I keep forgetting when I'm supposed to upload these things, oops. So enjoy this chapter, and a thank you to FlightWulf, Key, yaoifan, and Ace. . . Your reviews made me happy! And I hope this chapter does not disappoint.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 12**

Luffy's mouth popped open in surprise. "Hey!" He yelled, pointing. "You're the weird looking guy I saw yesterday!" Kuro turned to face him with a sneer, but when he spotted who it was who had spoken, the sneer became a surprised smirk.

"And _you're_ the very boy we've been looking for. I'll kill this runt-" Usopp cowered slightly, "-and then I'm bringing you in to my boss. He's _very_ anxious to meet you."

Zoro's hands went to his swords immediately, but Luffy held up a hand. He took Kuro's words as a personal challenge, and while Zoro had fought for him before, this time Luffy's the one who was going to step up and fight. He would protect his new friend Usopp from his attacker, and protect Zoro from more injury on his behalf.

Zoro noticed Luffy's gesture and grudgingly slid his swords away, straightening up from his attack position.

"_You_ think you can take me down?" Kuro demanded, reaching into his jacket. "I'm afraid someone of your calibre would have a very hard time facing me." From the depths of his jacket, he produced two gloves with long claw-like blades on the tips, just as Usopp had described them. Each blade had a thin sheath to protect himself from being stabbed while they were hidden away in Kuro's clothes.

"Don't think that you have the upper hand because you're fighting with daggers or whatever," Luffy warned, raising his fists.

"Oi, Luffy…" Usopp whispered, "You really don't have to, we could just run…" He fidgeted with his bag nervously. "I could attack him from a distance with my sling-shot, no big deal." Kuro was strong and scary, after all.

Luffy sighed dramatically and shook his head, fixing Usopp with a disappointed stare. "Oh, Usopp…"

"Wh-What…?"

Luffy's tone suddenly transformed into a whine. "He _challenged_ me! I can't back down!" He stomped his foot for added affect. "Besides, I haven't had a fight in ages!"

Usopp held up his hands in apology. "Okay, okay, you need to fight…" He scuttled away from the immediate area quickly, joining Zoro at a distance, who had settled on a low wall, arms folded and watching with sharp eyes, despite looking like he was ready to doze off.

Luffy turned back to Kuro and started warming up, cricking his neck from side to side to get rid of the kinks, and rolling his shoulders to loosen them up. Kuro let out a dignified snort, pushing his glasses up his face using the palm of his hand to avoid slicing his face up. Then tension was palpable, enough that Usopp nearly started wringing his hands in concern.

Instead of waiting for Luffy to be ready, Kuro simply leapt forward. The claws on his right hand cut through the air and at Luffy's face. Luffy leapt backwards, avoiding it with ease.

Now that the first move had been made, the tension had dissipated. Luffy lunged, a fist flying out to connect with Kuro's torso, but he blocked it with his arms. The force had him skidding backwards slightly.

They wasted no time in attacking each other again, swiping and punching and kicking and stabbing, sometimes hitting each other and other times not. Luffy was clearly at a disadvantage when he kept being cut by the blades swinging wildly at him. One thing Kuro had going for him was his incredible speed. Luckily, even though Luffy was having trouble keeping up properly, he could always follow with his eyes and react just in time.

Usopp flinched as he watched the fight progress, and would occasionally glance to his right where Zoro was. It was hard to tell if the man had simply fallen asleep, because he was so still. His left eye was sealed shut with a scar, and Usopp couldn't see the right side of his face. It was frustrating; he wanted to know what the guy thought of the fight, and he couldn't from where he was at.

He might have to strike up conversation.

Which was something he wasn't exactly prone to doing, especially with scary guys like Zoro.

"Hey," He finally said, "Will Luffy be okay?"

"Sure he will," Zoro grunted.

"You know?"

"Well I…" Zoro hesitated, scratching his head, "I haven't seen him fight much, not for two years anyway. I don't know how strong he is physically. But I _do_ know that he's a determined guy. He doesn't back down easily." Luffy was always a free spirit, that much was obvious. Pulling him away from something he'd set his mind on was an impossible task (Not that Zoro had the motivation to do that; he didn't like the thought of ever stopping Luffy from doing what he wanted, even if it bordered on dangerous. It _must_ be those puppy-dog eyes of his for sure.)

"Wait, you don't _know _if he can win?!" Usopp exclaimed, looking back at the fight. Luffy already had little cuts on his face, which was the target Kuro was obviously aiming for most. But Luffy didn't look dispirited by his injuries, and Usopp realised with a jolt that it was because Kuro was looking just as bad as Luffy was. He wasn't cut, but he already had a black eye and blood dripped steadily from his nose.

"I don't _know _the outcome, but I _do _know that Luffy's not gonna give up. That means he'll win eventually, right?" Zoro reasoned. Usopp eyed him.

"You say that, but you haven't let go of the hilt of your sword yet."

Zoro's brow furrowed sheepishly, but he didn't relinquish his hold. "…Just because I believe he's going to win doesn't mean I can't worry about him."

Usopp watched Zoro for a few seconds longer before nodding and turning back to the mini-battle taking place in front of him.

The shops around them, he noticed, had all lowered their shutters and put up their 'closed' signs. Nobody wanted to be in range of a fight, and with good reason. That also meant that nobody was around to watch as it progressed.

Luffy was panting hard, wiping at his bloody chin. Kuro was much more dignified, but a look at his rapidly rising and falling chest was indication enough that he was just as out of breath as Luffy. The two were quite the match for each other.

"This is taking too long," Kuro grunted, "I'm going to have to finish this quickly. Behold! My ultimate technique: Cat Out Of The Bag!" With that he began to spin at such a rapid rate that Usopp lost complete sight of him. Beside him, Zoro jerked in surprise too. Suddenly there were flashes of light and the walls of buildings were being carved into by strikes so fast that Usopp didn't even see them happen.

"He's so fast he's out of control!" Zoro yelled, standing up. Usopp followed suit, gaping. Luffy simply stood in the same spot, eyes hidden by the rim of his hat. His fists (now rather bloody from the beating he'd been delivering) were clenched tightly, in preparation for his next attack. _How_ he would be able to land a single hit any more, Usopp had no idea, since the only indication of Kuro's whereabouts was the slight rush of wind he left behind.

There was a sharp pain on his chest, too. Usopp looked down in surprise, only to see blood spray from three claw-lines running from one shoulder to the other, ripping one of the straps on his overalls. It took him a moment to process what had even happened, before his knees buckled.

Before he could crash onto the floor, a strong arm grabbed him by the bicep and yanked him back to his feet. It was Zoro, which only made sense, seeing as he was the only one next to Usopp at the time. He kept Usopp upright and looked at the injury.

"…You alright?" He grunted.

"I…Yeah. Probably, yeah," was all Usopp could mutter in reply.

Zoro nodded and looked back at the lone figure in front of them. Luffy had raised his head when Usopp had been cut, and he looked positively _livid_. The look felt ten times more terrifying than Kuro had been, Usopp decided, when it locked onto his own. The big relief was, he knew the fury wasn't directed at him, and because of that, it wasn't quite as scary as it could have been.

No, Luffy was angry at Kuro. The man in question was laughing, his speed making it seem like it was echoing all around the street.

"What's wrong? Can't fight any longer?" The man yelled with manic glee. "You'll end up worse than the long-nosed brat once I'm finished with you!"

Luffy took a deep breath and raised a shaking fist. Usopp watched on with fascination as Luffy pivoted on the spot, and his arm shot out so fast that Usopp had barely seen it move, and crashed into a suddenly very immobile Kuro's jaw. There was a loud crunch which definitely followed, which made Usopp wince. Kuro stumbled backwards and toppled over, surprise written across his face.

"You!" Luffy finally spoke, hollering angrily. "Usopp is my _new friend_, and you not only stalked him like a creeper, but you _hurt_ him!"

"Y-You…" Coughed Kuro through his bloody mouth, "How did you stop my technique?!" He demanded.

"Instinct!" Luffy snarled. Whether he was being truthful or just spouting out a non-answer, Usopp couldn't tell. Kuro slowly pushed himself back up onto his feet. He was a lot wobblier than before, probably too much to use his infernal speed-technique again, and raised his left hand with all five claws pointed towards Luffy.

"You want me to believe that?! It was just _luck_, that's all!" He plunged his hand forward, fully intending on hitting Luffy's heart, but Luffy ducked below them, and slammed both of his fists into Kuro's stomach, winding him. Using the pause it'd given him, Luffy swept his foot out and knocked Kuro's footing out from under him.

Kuro's back slammed into the pavement and he let out a choked gasp of surprise. Luffy grabbed the blades quickly, yet carefully, between his fingers and yanked the strange gloves off Kuro's hands, tossing them far away. Before Kuro could push himself back up, Luffy raised his foot and stomped on the bastard's head, slamming it back down hard, dazing him.

"You," He spluttered from his position on the ground. "Don't think you've won…I've my accomplice with me. He already knows you're here, and he's going to contact headquarters about your whereabouts. You're doomed." Luffy's eyes narrowed and he looked up to where Zoro was actively supporting Usopp, whose front was stained red.

"Oi. Zoro."

Zoro looked up with a sharp nod. "I understand. I'll stay here and deal with the other guy. You take Usopp to Franky's ho—"

"No!" Luffy cut off quickly, "You take him, and hurry! You'd just get lost if you stayed behind." There was a sense of urgency in his voice, one which Zoro felt inexplicably compelled to obey. As well as ignore the slight to his sense of direction.

"But what about y-?" He tried to ask.

Luffy cut him off when a fist swung at him, and only his lightning reflexes allowed him to dodge. "I'll be fine, but I'm kinda busy!" Then he locked eyes with Zoro and smiled. "Don't worry. Just get ready to set sail by the time I get back. Raise the anchor. I'll be quick."

Zoro stared hard at him for a moment, until the fight between Luffy and Kuro broke out again, and he pivoted on his heel, grabbed Usopp's arm, and sped away from the scene. Usopp let out a yelp of surprise, stumbling after him.

"O-oi, oi!" He winced, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "Is it okay to just leave him like that? I mean, Kuro looks pretty beat but so does Luffy!" He staggered slightly during his protest, and Zoro took it upon himself to haul Usopp up and over his shoulder, mindful of the injury on his chest. Usopp squawked indignantly.

"I dunno, but Luffy gave me _that_ look, and I just had to obey," He explained (not that Usopp understood his explanation).

"_What_ look?!"

"The one he always gives me when he wants something! The round, puppy-dog eyes!" Zoro stressed, waving his free arm for emphasis. Usopp shook his head, bushy hair flopping around him.

"Guy, whatever look he was giving you, it wasn't round-eyed at all. I dunno if we saw the same thing."

Zoro's step faltered and he skittered to a stop. Luffy _had_ used those eyes on him again, he was sure. The effect had been the same. The irresistible look he'd shot him made Zoro want to do his very bidding. It was hypnosis or something. But the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't help but think that what Usopp saying was true. Luffy's eyes hadn't been the same as all the other times he'd turned his doe-eyes on Zoro. They'd been harder and narrower.

"Oi, we shouldn't be stopping," Usopp reminded him with a prod to the leg. Zoro hesitated before picking up his pace again.

"You know… He _hadn't_ looked at me with the doe eyes…" He muttered. Usopp nodded (sort of). "But it was definitely the eyes…" He continued under his breath as his jog steadily turned into a sprint. "He looked at me in a certain way – always does – and I find myself compelled to do his bidding – always do…"

Usopp nodded again encouragingly. "And what do you think that means?" He held one hand in front of his face and used the index finger of the other hand to trace patters on it, as though he were writing on a note pad.

"I don't know…It's like, it doesn't matter whether he's looking at me with wide eyes or narrow eyes, if he looks at me, I find myself _wanting _to do what he says." Well, within reason. If Luffy told him to jump he had no doubt he'd ask "how high", but if Luffy replied with "Off that cliff ledge" he'd turn around and deliver a loving punch to the idiot.

"Mmmhm, mmmmhm," Usopp hummed knowingly as he 'recorded' this information on his 'notebook'. "And the conclusion I can draw from that is that you're completely and utterly whipped."

Zoro dropped him.

"OW! Hey!" Usopp yelled, clutching his poor, injured chest. "I'm mortally wounded, don't go tossing me around!" He protested, pushing himself up. Zoro harrumphed, folding his arms.

"Then don't say stupid things," He countered.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it," He moaned, holding out an arm. Zoro hefted him up and gruffly brushed the dirt off of him despite his annoyance. Usopp smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "But, hey…"

"Mm?" Zoro noised as he prepared to pick Usopp up again.

"You and Luffy get along really well with each other. I just think that's kinda nice. Reminds me of my friend back home…" He trailed off awkwardly and allowed Zoro to pick him up and start running again.

_Kaya…_ He thought, staring at the ground moving below him, _I guess I'm leaving, far away. I won't be back for a while. I'm sorry I couldn't even say goodbye. I know you'll look after the Usopp pirate crew because you're great like that…and I'm sorry that I didn't leave an explanation behind. I hope – or I know – that we'll meet up again someday. But for now, I'm setting out on a manly quest of self-discovery! And I'm afraid you can't come with me…_

"Oi, you okay down there?" Zoro asked, his voice jolting Usopp out of his thoughts.

"Hm? Yeah…"

"Good. Sounded like you were crying."

"I'm not-!" Usopp pressed a hand to his face to find out that yeah, he might have leaked a couple of tears… He scrubbed his face madly and said louder, "A brave warrior does not cry over a scratch like this! I'm fine."

Zoro was silent after that and they raced back to Franky's place as fast as possible (with the occasional addition of "No, turn left here" from Usopp when Zoro lost his way). When the others caught sight of Usopp, they started running around, collecting disinfectant and bandages to treat the wound on his chest. While Sanji and Chopper (who was always such a strangely perceptive reindeer) tended to that, Zoro caught Franky's attention.

"Oi, we need a ship _right now!_" He demanded loudly. Franky picked up on his urgency immediately and his face became serious.

"I understand. I want to help you bros out as quickly as possible, but there's only one ship so far which is available for you…" He trailed off uncertainly. Vivi, who had been listening in worriedly, blinked in realisation. Of what, Zoro wasn't sure. Off to one side, Nami began packing the food Sanji had bought the other day into a big bag to transport it quickly to the ship.

Vivi took in the suddenly rushed atmosphere of the room before fixing Franky with a look. "Will you let them have it?"

"Let them _have_ it?" Franky asked, raising his eyebrows in horror. "Nah, Vivi sis."

"But, Franky, I thought you were going to help them…they need—!" Zoro was going to protest along-side the blue-haired girl, but both were cut off by Franky's raised hand.

"Princess," Franky cut in, "I'm not going to let _them_ have it…I'm going to go with them."

"Wait, seriously?" Zoro asked, taken aback.

"Yeah. You guys need to get away quickly, right?" Franky asked. Zoro nodded, replaying Luffy's instructions in his mind. "Then you'll need a ship, and the only ship we have on hand on such short notice is my pride and joy, my _dream ship_. Of course, I'm not going to just leave it in the hands of a bunch of incompetent kids like you, who don't know the first thing about looking after a ship properly. So I'm going to sail it with you."

"I…Thanks. That's great. Then let's go!" Zoro grinned. He turned to where Usopp had been deposited, and noted that he'd been completely taken care of. The group was now hauling all their bags over their shoulders in preparation.

"But what about Luffy bro?" Franky asked, glancing around as if to see if Luffy had slipped in without his notice. Being such a loud kid, that would have been impossible though, and Luffy wasn't there yet.

"Don't worry," Zoro assured, "Luffy said he'd be there in a moment. He's just finishing off a threat, and he'll be there as soon as possible."

"Right," Sanji spoke up to Franky, "Lead the way."

Franky nodded, throwing open the back door which lead down to the private docks, and dashed down towards them with the group on his heels. As they ran, Usopp breathlessly filled them in on what had happened in the details that Zoro skipped, about Kuro and his accomplice. When he'd finished he glanced around.

"Hey, where's the princess?" He asked. Franky frowned.

"I hadn't noticed her leave! Odd!" He replied, then skidded to a stop by the dock at the end, which was surrounded by walls on three sides, the structure being open towards the sea. There was a large drop-down gate on the wall in front of them which Franky heaved open with almighty strength. Behind it they saw the large silhouette of a ship covered by a sheet to keep it clean.

Franky approached the ship and ripped the sheet away from the ship with a strong pull, revealing a glorious brig sloop type ship with a mighty lion's head for the figure at the front. Nami gasped in awe and Chopper stomped his hooves in excitement. Zoro and Sanji looked impressed as well, but knew there was no time to be standing in awe.

"This is my pride and joy; Thousand Sunny!" Franky declared proudly.

"That's- that's so cool!" Usopp enthused, with eyes wide and mouth open in excitement. Franky preened at the comment. Zoro shook his head and started charging up the wooden stairs to the ship's deck.

"Yeah, it's great, but come on!" He ushered. The others finally started getting on as well (with Chopper confusedly trying to climb the stairs until Usopp took pity on him and came back down to carry him up. They hurriedly bundled all of their belongings into a room to be sorted out later and arranged to start sailing the moment Luffy got back. They were reluctant to raise the anchor like Luffy had instructed them to do because they would drift, and they were worried Luffy wouldn't be able to reach the ship by the time he got back.

Luffy stood above the definitely unconscious Kuro, brushing his hands off. The guy sure was persistent; he had to give him that. But Luffy had finished it quickly, because it was important to do so in order to escape properly. Reaching into the man's suit, Luffy pulled out a communication device and tossed it on the ground, stomping on it. Now he wouldn't have to worry about the guy waking up and calling his friend.

The only problem was, his friend probably already _knew_ where they were…Luffy took a moment to give his tired body a moment of rest, massaging his wounds, before turning and starting to run. He could just about remember the way back, but even if he couldn't, they were supposed to be at the docks, so Luffy could technically follow the coast in order to get there.

While he ran, he kept feeling uneasy, like there was someone watching him. Luffy shuddered.

"It's like these guys have creepy, slimy eyes which they're using to watch my every move," He muttered to himself, shuddering. He wished he hadn't sent Zoro ahead, now. Company was always preferred… At least he was confident that they had both gone back and let the others know what was going on.

Luffy turned to look up at the rooftops. He was certain there were people up there. Baroque Works people, no doubt. If not, then thugs hired by people from Baroque Works. The creeping feeling got closer and closer, until Luffy unwittingly slammed into a body, stumbling backwards. The person he hit squeaked and fell backwards too, but was caught by the two men on either side. Luffy looked up in surprise.

"Princess Vivi!" He yelled. Vivi put a finger to her lips.

"Not so loud! I heard what was going on and who you were fighting. That's why I've brought these people." Luffy looked at the two men next to her. One was a pale man with white robes and weird purple face-markings. The other was dark skinned and had black hair and a blue cloak.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Luffy asked.

"They're the Head Guards of the Royal palace," Vivi introduced. Luffy waved hello. "And these," Vivi went on, gesturing behind her, "…are fifty of their men."

Luffy looked past her shoulder in confusion and practically jumped when he did, indeed, see a load of men dressed in the same clothes and holding staff-like weapons. He looked back at Vivi who was smiling.

"We plan on detaining the men working for the organisation. Just take it as a favour to my cousin," she explained. Luffy nodded, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "After all, royalty has its perks!"

Luffy laughed brightly and flung his arms around her in a tight hug. To the side, Chaka and Pell flinched and glared at him. Luffy didn't take any notice. "Thanks, you're the _greatest!"_ He let go and began running again, waving behind him. "Just _wait_ until Zoro hears about this!"

Now, as he sped towards the docks, he noticed that he no longer had disgustingly creepy eyes following him, and decided that he had Vivi to thank for that. Bursting right through Franky's front door, he took a moment to notice that his bag of stuff wasn't there anymore, and assumed that the others had taken it to the ship with them, so he continued out the back door Franky had shown them earlier when he'd been explaining their plan, running down the cobblestone steps towards the docs, and the one blatant open one which hadn't been open before.

When he reached it, the ship was still there, just barely. It was no problem, he could reach it if he jumped far enough. On the deck he could see people running around and getting ready to go. They'd raised the anchor and removed the wooden steps and the only thing they were still waiting for was Luffy.

He skidded to a stop at the edge, pausing to stare in awe at the large ship. "Whoa!" He gasped in excitement. "That's such…such a cool ship!" He whooped, jumping in glee. "_And I get to ride it! It's like a dream come true!_"

"OI, LUFFY!" Zoro bellowed from the ship. "STOP ACTING LIKE A DUMBASS AND HURRY UP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" Luffy was shaken from his enthusiasm with a jolt and nodded, backing up slightly. The ship had drifted in the time he'd been admiring it, he noticed, but he'd manage.

"Right!" Once he was far enough away, he broke into a run, kicking off once he'd reached the edge of the water, arms stretched out. He got closer and closer, nearly managing to reach the edge, before he felt the pull of gravity forcing him towards the water and the railing got further away.

_Shit…_ He thought, _if I could just reach a little further, I could get on…_ just when he was about to hit the water, he felt heat spread through his body, like energy maybe, and his arm shot out in front of him, reaching just as far as he needed to in order to grab the railing. His hand hooked around it and his body started to catch up, being pulled up as well, and then catapulted onto the ship from momentum, crashing face-first into the mast.

Usopp and Franky cheered his arrival while Nami and Zoro face-palmed. Sanji beamed around his cigarette, looking relieved. Chopper just dashed around Luffy in a panic upon seeing his cuts and bruises, but Luffy simply brushed him off. The moment everyone was safely on the ship, though, the sails were lowered and they set off as quickly as possible.

Zoro plucked Luffy up from his position on the ground and brushed him off before setting him on his feet. Luffy smiled in gratitude and Zoro shrugged awkwardly before grinning back, scratching his head.

"What a lovely escape," A woman complimented, "you really made it. I'm amazed." Immediately, everyone was on guard, spinning round. (Luffy had to admit he was getting sick of being caught off-guard all the time.)

"Who's there?!" Nami yelled.

Sitting on the railing at the edge of the ship was a woman.

**TBC**


	13. Uncertain

**A/N - This chapter may _look_ like a filler chapter, but it holds important information. Which is mostly at the start of the chapter. But there are other little bits of information here and there. Now, thank you to Key, FlightWulf (gosh, the start of your review nearly gave me a heart attack!), Aceisawesome, Cyborgnetics, and Yaoifan, for your fabulous reviews. Like seriously. I love each of them (and now I'm only 3 away from 50 reviews. Oh boy a round number of awesome). Ok, now onto the chapter! **

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 13**

Sitting on the railing was a mysterious woman. She had long black hair and wore sunglasses and a short-sleeved jacket with what looked like a wrap-around tied to her waist like a skirt (Luffy didn't even _try_ to understand girl's clothes). She was smiling, but it was hard to tell whether it was genuine or not, because the sunglasses hid her eyes.

Usopp whipped out his slingshot and aimed it at her, wary. On the same train of thought, Zoro had pulled out two of his swords and pointed them inches from her skin. Franky raised his sunglasses with a thumb and peered at her with a whistle.

"What a _woman!_"

She laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Why are you here? Get off," Luffy frowned, pointing a finger at her.

"Luffy, don't talk to a woman like that!" Sanji yelled, completely taken in by her looks. "Milady, pray tell, what's your name?"

"Don't be so nice, shitty cook, she must be someone from Baroque Works!" Zoro rebuked. Sanji shut his mouth but looked torn between getting into an attack stance and getting down on one knee for the woman, who laughed behind a hand.

"The swordsman is right," she smiled. "I am indeed involved with Baroque Works. But-!" She held up a hand to prevent them from leaping into an attack. "I'm not here under any orders."

"Like hell," Zoro growled threateningly. The woman waved her hand unconcernedly and turned to gaze at Luffy, raising her sunglasses to get a better look.

"You must be Monkey D. Luffy. You're quite the famous one, aren't you?" she laughed. Luffy stuck out his bottom lip defiantly and didn't answer. It wasn't like he'd _asked_ to be chased by all these people. Even if it _was _kinda fun. The woman went on, "I came here for a good look at you; the vital cog in the works; the most important thing to my boss."

"I don't like him!" Luffy yelled back, pulling his lower eyelid down and sticking out his tongue in an immature gesture. Robin nodded.

"I did not think that you would." She laughed slightly as though Luffy had done something funny. "You may call me Nico Robin."

"I don't care what your name is," Zoro interrupted, holding his sword out as if to block her from getting closer to Luffy. "Get off this ship before I start to use force."

"Oi, shithead, you can't use force on a—" Sanji started to protest, but was cut off abruptly.

"I _can _and _will_, if she poses a threat to Luffy. Us."

"As I've already said," Nico Robin said, "I'm not here under any orders. I tracked you here to see you for myself. You were nothing like I expected you to be." She smiled mysteriously. "I'll be on my way. No need to worry; I will not let anybody know of your location for now. After all, that wouldn't be fair, would it?"

Luffy scratched his head. "It wouldn't be," he agreed. "What, you're a good person?"

"You shouldn't trust her, Luffy," Zoro warned, and Luffy nodded slowly.

"She's a bad guy…?" he guessed. Zoro nodded.

"It doesn't matter either way, I'll be on my way now." With that, Nico Robin tipped backwards off the railing, falling out of sight. Most of the group let out yells of surprise and sprinted to the edge to look over. There, she was standing on a small motorboat which had been tethered to the ship while she chatted to them.

While they stared down at her, Nico Robin tossed them a wave and started the propeller, speeding off in the opposite direction from them, towards the horizon. Zoro huffed and sheathed his swords, turning to walk away and nearly tripping over Luffy, who was bent down.

"Whoa-! Luffy!" He yelled, hopping backwards. Luffy straightened up and gave him an innocent look. He had what looked like a folded sheet of paper clutched in his hand. Zoro pointed at it. "Oi, what's that?"

That caught the group's attention and they looked at Luffy to see what he was talking about. Luffy looked at it and shrugged.

"I don't know. It fell out of the woman's waistband when she flipped backwards," he explained and began to unfold it.

"So she dropped it when she did the backflip?" Usopp asked. "That's what you get for being flashy."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being flashy!" Franky argued, posing with his arms up to prove his point.

"Ooooh!" Luffy exclaimed, interrupting the brewing argument. They all turned back to the paper. Unfolded, it appeared to have strange shapes constructed on a grid with red ink outlining shapes and linking the different shapes together. Nami hastily grabbed it out of his hand.

"Hey-!" Luffy yelped but Nami waved him away with a hand.

"It's a map!" she gasped. "I thought so. That," she indicated with a finger, "is the island we just left. Sanji!"

"Yeeees, my love?" Sanji twirled to her side obediently.

"Get me the two maps I got from Zoro. I think I left them on the dining table."

"Right away!" Sanji pranced towards dining room with vigour, and as he went Zoro muttered something under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"What was that, moss-headed freak?!" Sanji demanded, stopping in his tracks.

"I _said_ 'Love-sick ballerina'!" Zoro repeated in his face.

"Why you-!" Sanji raised his leg to attack Zoro but stumbled back in surprise when Chopper pulled on his waistband with his teeth. "Aah, Chopper!" He had to clutch at his pants to stop them from slipping off. "Ok, right, maps." He nodded when Chopper turned pointedly towards Sanji's intended destination.

Once he'd returned, Nami knelt down and laid the two maps he'd brought on the ground, aligning them as though they were one map. Then she spread the new map over them, which was significantly larger, and nodded.

"This covers a lot more area of the world than the other two do. I'd say it spans half of the world…!" she gasped. After all, not many maps could piece together so many islands on one map. Baroque Works must have a skilled cartographer somewhere.

"What are those everywhere?" Usopp asked, indicating symbols placed seemingly randomly over a large number of the islands, connected by the red lines. Nami peered at them and traced checked the edge of the map.

"See here?" she pointed at the same symbol drawn in the corner. "It's a key. It says here it stands for "BWB", whatever that means."

"Whatever it is, there are lots of them. There were two on the island we just left!" Usopp remarked. The others were peering over her shoulder now, looking at the key.

"Baroque Works Bases," Zoro said suddenly. The others looked at him. He shrugged and pointed at the key again to make his point. "We already know about Baroque Works, which is what BW stands for. I've seen it embroidered on all of the employees' clothes so far. And the other B has to be 'bases' because they're marking locations. Right? And the island we just left marks them on Usopp's village, and we know that Usopp was chased out for overhearing Baroque Works employees. And the other one is in Rain Base. I don't know about that, but we know they're in Alabasta somewhere, and Rain Base is part of Alabasta too. Right Franky?"

"Hmm? Yeah, bro. Rain Base is pretty much dominated by this Crocodile guy and his Casino."

"…'Crocodile guy'?" Zoro deadpanned.

"…Yeah? The same Crocodile who's after you guys, right?"

"So why…" Zoro growled, "didn't you mention this _sooner?_" He demanded, raising his voice by the end. Franky held up his hands in defence.

"I didn't think it was important! We weren't going there after all, we were going to Alubarna. And he was already after you so he probably wasn't even there. What's the big deal?"

"Information is key!" Zoro yelled. "Knowing is half of the battle! Remember," he held up his hand to stress his point, dropping his voice level, "the enemy knows a lot about us, but we don't know much at all about the enemy. Everything is important, even if we never use it, at least we _know_. Understand?"

"Y-Yeah… Sorry, bro," Franky scratched his head, effectively cowed.

"Good. And Luffy, why have you been laughing in my ear nonstop?!" He rounded on the boy, but had to soften his voice when he caught sight of him giggling away like a child.

"Zoro…" Luffy snickered, "Zoro can read maps and he _still_ gets lost!"

Zoro flushed and turned away with his arms folded, grumbling. "A-Anyway. Now we have information on the enemy. We can see where they're located on each island, we know which islands to avoid and we know if they're at the island we're headed to, which is the…the Father Christmas island." He finished with a grudging mumble, feeling silly to call it that, and tapped its location on the map with his finger so that they knew what he meant.

Sanji smirked at him. "'Father Christmas island'?" He repeated disbelievingly. Zoro glared at him in the hopes of making him back off.

"Luffy called it that, not me," he retorted. Luffy perked up at the sound of his name and grinned goofily at Zoro. He sighed and shook his head, choosing instead to lie down on the grassy deck and take a well-deserved nap.

Luffy blinked and watched him go, and once he was asleep, joined him by the rail.

"Since Zoro's asleep, I'll have to be his guard!" he decided brightly. The rest looked at him with expressions of bemusement before going about their business.

Sanji went to investigate the kitchen to see what tools had been added and what food had been stocked. Nami went to find the ladies' bedroom to keep the maps safely in and have a lie down after the stressful few days. Franky led Usopp away to show him their weaponry, and Chopper looked between that group and Luffy before dashing off so as not to be left behind.

Luffy kept up his guard for a few minutes after they were gone before promptly falling asleep on Zoro's knee.

A few hours later and everyone had been satisfied and were now milling around the ship's deck lazily. The calm after the storm felt great and everyone felt the need to take it easy. That was, until Usopp propped his boot up on a table dramatically (and receiving a dirty look from Franky for doing so) and pointing his finger in the air.

"Listen! This is a ship full of runaways and outlaws! Or something like that," he conceded before continuing, "and I've been thinking that on a crew of misfits like this, we need a captain to maintain order around here! And personally, I think that the Great Captaaaain Uso-"

"ME!" Luffy screamed, leaping up from his position and waving his hands in the air enthusiastically. Usopp pouted at Luffy for cutting him off.

"Oi, oi, it's my ship," Franky pointed out. "Doesn't that make _me_ the captain?"

"Nope," Luffy turned to him and spoke matter-of-factly , "you're the shipwright. You already have a job." Franky paused to consider this while Luffy continued, "Besides. I've always dreamed of being the captain of a pirate ship!"

"But this _isn't_ a pirate ship," Nami pointed out.

"That's right!" Sanji was quick to agree, nodding his head. "We're just a bunch of odd people out, running to keep _you_ alive."

"What? Where's your sense of adventure?" Luffy whined.

"Oi," Zoro spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him. He had his arms folded and he wasn't making eye contact with anybody.

"Shithead? Don't tell me you want to be captain too," Sanji snorted.

"Luffy should be captain. It's what he wants, and he _was_ the one who brought us all together," Zoro said gruffly, cheeks tinged pink. "If he wants to be a pirate captain, then let him."

There was a pause while everyone looked at him, considering, before looking at each other.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter," Nami shrugged. "We're still technically not pirates, but I see no harm letting Luffy take the title. He's the one who chose the course after all, and that's a captain's job."

"I wanted…" Usopp grumbled before sighing loudly and dramatically. "_But_ since Luffy saved my life, I _guess_ he can be captain if he wants," he conceded.

Luffy jumped up and whooped with joy, bouncing in circles around the mast. "I'm the captain! I! Am! The! Captain!" He cried with his arms up. "…And Zoro's my first mate!"

"Eh?!"

Luffy laughed and jumped on Zoro's back. He stumbled slightly, making an 'Oof!' noise. Luffy pointed ahead of them and squeezed Zoro's hips with his heels. "Onwards, first mate! To victory!" Zoro protested and tried to shake Luffy off him, with Chopper (who was sure that Zoro looked pleased to have Luffy on his back) bouncing at their knees excitedly.

Sanji didn't bother to comment, lighting his cigarette and dragging on it. He only cared about being a chef anyway. He wouldn't mind following Luffy, just as long as everyone had good food. Like his precious Nami! He would feed her all day if he could! Ahh, Nami eating his dinners was a wonderful mental image…and Nami eating sweets he'd prepared. Full up Nami. Fat Nami! Every Nami was perfect in his mind.

And it was with that train of thought that Sanji floated into the kitchen to start preparing dinner for the newly formed crew.

Dinner was hurried along, then bed time, at which Luffy decided to use his newly appointed role to order somebody onto watch. He first ordered Nami but got whacked for his efforts, with her insisting that she needed sleep after the tiresome day. So Luffy chose Franky instead, because Sanji needed to sleep so that he could cook well the next day, Chopper was a reindeer and couldn't even climb up the mast, Usopp had already fallen asleep, and he needed Zoro to look after him.

Zoro had to question that last part.

"Well," Luffy turned to him, "I'm injured, see?" He pulled at the bandages covering the wounds inflicted on him by Kuro. "Which means _I_ can't be on watch."

"…But what does that have to do with me?" Zoro asked, confused.

"You have to stay because my wounds are itchy. I need someone to look after me."

Zoro considered him a moment before relenting. "Fine, whatever," he agreed with a shrug before falling back into his bunk to go to sleep. Moments later he felt a weight drop on him and he grunted, cracking his eye open. His vision was filled with woven straw thanks to Luffy deciding to use him as a bed. Zoro shut his eye again, too tired to argue, and quickly fell asleep.

In the morning, when the sun had just begun to rise, Zoro was woken by snoring in his ear. He yawned and turned his head to look to his left (his blind spot) and wasn't at all surprised to see Luffy snoozing contentedly on his shoulder. His right arm had wound around Luffy's waist in the same manner he would clutch his swords possessively. Luffy didn't seem to mind it being there, since he was comfortably asleep and drooling over Zoro's shirt.

He grimaced and let go, stretching. It was way too early to get up but he couldn't go back to sleep now, not with Luffy making those noises in his ear. So instead he just lay there, wondering if Luffy would wake up if he tried to get out from under him. That was, if he even wanted to get up. Luffy's body was warm against the chill of the morning, and Zoro (or more accurately Luffy) had lost the blanket somewhere during the night.

Zoro could feel the steady rise and fall of Luffy's tummy against his. It was surprisingly enjoyable. Before Luffy had even shown up, Zoro had been quite the loner and hadn't interacted with another living being like this for years. The experience made Zoro's chest feel warm and pleasant, so he wrapped his arms securely around Luffy and rolled onto his side. Luffy's head flopped back, opening his airwaves and silencing his snores. Satisfied, Zoro tucked Luffy's head under his chin and went back to sleep.

For maybe half an hour before Franky woke everyone up by turning on the speakers in the watch tower (which was cause enough for a mini heart attack since no one had _known_ there were speakers there) and informed everyone through them that he'd spotted land. Usopp jolted awake and fell out of his bunk in surprise, squawking.

Luffy sat up hastily at the noise, the top of his head slamming into Zoro's chin which woke him up yelling "Aaaurgh!" in pain. Luffy twisted around to look at him in surprise.

"Aah! Sorry Zoro!" He smiled sheepishly. Zoro grumbled and rubbed his chin while Luffy jumped out of the bunk and onto Usopp's face. "Eh? Usopp? What are you doing on the floor, you weirdo?" He laughed and stepped off, trotting out of the room.

Nami and Chopper were outside already. Nami was stroking Chopper's fur absently while peering over the horizon to get a good look of the new island they'd encountered. It was very small and would probably only take a day or two to circle the circumference. Luffy looked up to where Franky was sticking his head out of the hatch in the closed off watch tower.

"It's got a village by the coast. Doesn't seem to have many trees from what I can see, but there are lots of windmills."

"Windmills?" Luffy asked, looking over at the island they were drawing nearer to. Nami unrolled the East Blue map and looked at it, pinpointing the small island.

"Here it is, right next to the grand line," she pointed out. "Kaigan Island, it's called. They draw their energy from renewable resources they can draw from their windmills, like water and wind."

"Oh, I've heard of that place," Sanji commented, appearing by her shoulder to look at the map. "Wind and water aren't enough to power the whole island, so they get a lot of their power from the crematorium."

"C-crematorium?!" Usopp asked, having followed Sanji out. "Like, where they burn dead bodies?!"

"Yep," Sanji nodded. "People get cremated and they use them like fuel."

"That's-! That's horrible!" Usopp moaned, trying to rid himself of the image of burning bodies.

"Nah. It's like when you die, you're helping your island stay alive," Sanji shrugged, lighting his first cigarette of the morning and blowing smoke in Usopp's direction, who cringed and looked away to the island.

"Stop scaring him, idiot," Zoro grunted, being the last to emerge and rubbing the newly formed green bruise on his chin.

"What happened to you?" Sanji asked, grinning. "Did you finally get enough testosterone to grow a beard?"

"Why the hell would I want a stupid beard? Yours looks terrible, not to mention a completely different colour from your hair. Don't tell me you _dye _it," Zoro mocked back. Sanji flared up and was about to argue back when Usopp cut in.

"Hey, _I _have a beard too!" He protested. Sanji turned to him.

"Sorry, but moss-monster must hate your beard too." He patted the boy on the shoulder. Zoro gaped.

"No, I don't, Usopp. It's just frying pan's fuzzy caterpillar which looks disgusting." He dodged the first foot which swung his way and pulled out a sword to parry with the following onslaught of kicks Sanji delivered in anger.

"Come on, bros, don't fight," Franky yelled, jumping down from the mast and holding up a hand. "We're nearly at the island."

That distracted them and they headed to the railing to look out at the island they were drawing closer to. Zoro suddenly realised that Luffy had been quiet for a while and looked over at him. The boy in question was slumped over the railing and looking uncharacteristically glum.

"Hey," Usopp whispered behind his hand, "why's Luffy looking so down? What do we do?"

"Huh…I've not seen him like this before. Maybe Nami knows the answer!" Sanji decided and was about to twirl up to Nami in a flurry of adoration, when Zoro pushed him out of the way and addressed the matter direction.

"Hey…" He nudged Luffy with an elbow. "What's the matter?" His question caught the attention of those who hadn't been listening to the conversation, and they looked at Luffy as well, just as surprised as Zoro was to see Luffy being so quiet.

"It's funny…" Luffy muttered, "when I saw the windmills, I was reminded of home. My village was famous for its windmills too." He sagged even further down the railing with a whine, practically slumped on the ground. "I miss home!"

Zoro felt himself wince, remembering the abruptness Luffy went through when he had to leave his home. He wasn't surprised that Luffy was starting to feel homesick by now. If Luffy's stories had taught him anything, it was that Luffy really loved and valued his family and friends.

"Oi," he grunted, reaching down to haul Luffy up and onto his feet. "If it'll cheer you up, we'll treat you," he offered. Saying 'we' made him feel better, like they were all involved in the cheering up rather than just him. It also made his starving wallet happy, because he knew how heartily Luffy liked to eat.

At the suggestion, Luffy perked up considerably, so even though most of the crew wanted to protest, they couldn't deny Luffy something that made him look so much happier than he was. Once they'd docked, then, the first thing they started to look for in the nearby village was a good place to eat which was cheap enough for them to afford to feed Luffy's healthy appetite.

The villagers were, luckily enough, not hostile towards them. In fact, they were incredibly friendly, which made a change from the sorts of people they'd been running into all this time. There was a restaurant which was happy to let them in, including Chopper, to their surprise. So they took a large table near the bar and ordered food for themselves. Each got large dishes because they knew Luffy was bound to steal from their plates.

Luffy, of course, ordered three meals. Zoro decided to forgo eating that time and ordered himself a beer, which Sanji scoffed at. But the food arrived soon, and the booze arrived sooner, and nobody cared if Zoro wanted to get drunk on an empty stomach.

Nami was discussing going clothes shopping while they were out, something which made Zoro groan (and he noticed he wasn't the only one to express displeasure at the idea).

"Why? The clothes we have are fine, aren't they?"

Nami rounded on him. "Like hell! You and Luffy only have one pair! When's the last time you washed those?"

"Hey, I have a couple of shirts. I switch them up a bit," Zoro protested.

"Oh yes, you mean like the shirt which got cut up in your fight outside the Baratie?" Nami raised her eyebrow. "The torn up, beyond repair shirt? _That_ is your extra shirt?" Zoro grumbled, folding his arms. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Still not going…" he huffed, the gust of air blowing the foam around his beer. He slipped into a silence while the witch turned her clothes-wrath on Franky, enjoying his drink for a while, until he was interrupted again.

"Oi, Zoro…" This time it was Luffy. Good, no talk about clothes.

"Hn?" Zoro grunted into his beer mug. Luffy held out his fork, which had far too much food speared onto it at once; some of it was starting to fall off and onto the table. Zoro stared at it then looked at Luffy in confusion. "Uh…?"

"We didn't get to eat that much yesterday," Luffy reminded him. "Only like one meal! We're four short!" he whined. Zoro shook his head in a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Only you think we should be eating that much. If _I_ had that many calories, I'd gain fat instead of muscle."

"Food is good, though," Luffy insisted, prodding Zoro's chin with his fork insistently. Zoro flinched away from the offending utensil, realising with a wince that he now had gravy splotches on his chin which were dribbling down his neck.

"Oi, Lu-!" he tried to protest, but Luffy saw his open mouth as an opportunity, shoving the fork in. Zoro choked slightly but automatically accepted the food, clamping his mouth shut so tightly that Luffy had to wrestle the fork from his teeth afterwards. As Zoro chewed the ridiculous amount of food (and ignored the giggling from everyone else), he couldn't help the stupid small smile which found its way onto his face. After all, Luffy _never_ gave his food out unless it was important. Zoro should be flattered that Luffy so willingly gave away his food for Zoro (and so much food that it puffed out his cheeks like a hamster).

Luffy, satisfied, went back to eating his food (and stealing some bacon off Usopp's plate, who tried to protest before giving up and declaring that bacon was unhealthy anyway and he was going to let Luffy have it this once because he was watching his weight).

The rest of the evening went smoothly, and when they were clearing out, Luffy was hopping from paved stone to paved stone and humming out-of-tune songs. Even though he was acting childish and annoying, the rest of the crew exchanged glances with varying levels of relief. They were happy to see Luffy cheerful instead of his strange, gloomy self which was cause for alarm.

The group headed back to the ship (since the clothes shops were blessedly closed for the day) and looked ready to settle down for the night. Chopper looked like he was falling asleep where he stood, sprawling out on the grass until Sanji convinced him that sleeping there wouldn't be fun and coaxed him into the men's room. Usopp followed after him, wrapping up a tall tale of adventure and romance which he had apparently embarked on when he was seven.

Franky was about to take watch when Zoro stopped him. "Didn't you say there were training weights in there?" he asked, pointing a thumb at the closed-in watch tower which apparently doubled as a work-out room. Franky confirmed it with a thumbs-up and a grin.

"Yeah. Gotta keep strength up somehow." He flexed his muscles (which Zoro was sure were made of metal, _not_ muscle tissue). "Super, is it not?" he asked rhetorically before giving Zoro the watch for that night, since he wanted to train, and slipped away to the men's room.

Luffy watched him go, then watched Nami head to her room, then at the hatch Zoro had just disappeared through. The door to the mens' had been left open for when he came in, but the light was now off. Luffy nudged it closed with a toe then turned to the mast, climbing up the rigging towards the watch tower where Zoro was.

Luffy had something important, something which had been bothering him for a while, to ask him.

**TBC - By the way, next chapter a lot of important and interesting stuff happens so look forward to that!**


	14. Flustered

**A/N - Lookie here, a new chapter all ready and raring to go. I hope you guys love it. Because I had so much fun writing it. So much fun. Thank you to xAlreadyOverx, yaoifan, Key, and FlightWulf for your lovely reviews. Seriously I love all of them. Thank you! Oh- by the way, I'm starting University this week so I don't know if this will affect my schedule, but if I end up not posting chapters as regularly as I normally do, it's the Uni's fault. Now onto the chapter!  
**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 14**

Zoro was lifting small weights up in the watch tower, making sure not to choose anything too heavy; he was feeling slightly fuzzy around the edges thanks to the drinks he'd had before and didn't want to be doing any heavy lifting. The room was larger than it had looked on the outside and had a large variety of weights, much to Zoro's delight.

While he was busy, the hatch cracked open. Zoro looked over, not one to miss such movements, and saw Luffy's eyes blinking back at him. They stared at each other for a moment before Zoro beckoned him in. It was odd to see Luffy hesitating like that. Zoro thought he would be happy to pop in whenever he felt like it.

Luffy threw the hatch open wider and wriggled in, shutting it again before walking over to Zoro, who paused in his weight lifting.

"What are you doing here instead of sleeping?" he asked. Luffy twisted his hands together nervously, shrugging. Zoro raised an eyebrow at the odd gesture and put down the weights with a grunt. "Alright then, why don't you sit over there?" He motioned to the bench lining the room. Luffy nodded.

"Okay," he agreed and ambled towards the seat, plopping down. Zoro glanced around for a blanket he'd seen earlier before spotting it, grabbing it and unfurling it over Luffy. It landed over his head, and he laughed, pushing it away. Zoro grinned and tucked it around him properly. Luffy put his hat on the side to get more comfortable.

"Sit quietly there, then, if you can't sleep." After that, Zoro resumed his weightlifting, pausing to chug down water every now and then (more to rid himself of the alcohol in his system than anything), and using that moment to glance at Luffy.

Luffy was gazing at him, resting his chin on his knees and looking swamped by the large blanket. He hadn't said anything yet, and Zoro had thought that he would get away with a quiet night of weight-lifting, but it must have been too good to be true. Luffy, true to himself, couldn't stay quiet for too long.

"Hey, Zoro…"

"Mm?"

"Can I ask you something?" The uncertain tone made Zoro put down his weights and turn his full attention towards Luffy.

"Sure. What's up?" He prompted, flopping down beside Luffy and dabbing his sweaty forehead with a towel before throwing it over a shoulder. Luffy eyed him with lips quirked upwards before shaking his head and staring out the window.

"Well, it's just… Have you ever had something strange happen to you? Like, something you can't explain, but it happened. And even though it was a weird happening, it felt…normal? No, natural. Like you were meant to do it all along."

"I…don't understand," Zoro admitted.

"Well, when I was trying to get back to the ship…" He scratched his head, thinking of how to put it. "Or, back in the desert…" He stopped again, forehead going pink from thinking so hard. Zoro was at a loss for what he was talking about. Luffy caught his puzzled expression and tried again, going bright when he thought of another way to explain it. "Okay, have you ever felt, uh, really strong?"

"I feel strong every day," Zoro responded. Luffy's face fell. Zoro got the impression he'd said just the wrong thing. "Luffy, I don't get it."

"Neither do I, and that's the thing!" Luffy exclaimed in frustration, waving his hands around to emphasise his point. Zoro caught them before they hit him in the face.

"Ok, ok. I don't know what to say…but -"

"Never mind!" Luffy said hastily, pulling his hands out of Zoro's grip to hold them in front of him. "It was dumb bringing it up anyway!"

"If you're sure -" It had seemed really important when Luffy started.

"Yeah, I am! But what about you, huh?" he babbled, scooting up to squish next to Zoro, grinning up at him. "You said I'd get to see your sword skills when you fought, right? But I haven't actually seen you fight. I want to see your three-sword-style!" he insisted. Zoro was taken aback.

"Er. Well, I told you I hold one in my mouth. Then I use it in conjunction with my other two swords in moves like Oni Giri, but often it is there as a defence during two-sword moves like Taka Nami- Oi, stop drooling over me!"

"I can't help it!" Luffy protested, "you keep talking about food."

"I do _not_," Zoro retorted, going pink. "They have different meanings," he added, grumbling.

Luffy shrugged. "Whatever. Keep going!" He lifted up a corner of the blanket and nudged it against Zoro's arm insistently until Zoro relented and pulled it over himself as well, since it was so large anyway. Luffy grinned, watching him expectantly for more information.

"Er…Ok, so when I was fighting the agent back at the Baratie, I was having trouble cutting through that damn chainmail of his. Must've been made out of some strong as shit alloy, since I was struggling so much. But once I had dropped two of my swords and could only hold one, I discovered something – must've been kinda similar to what you were talking about earlier – and it was like the world around me was breathing…" Zoro went on rambling about that fight, which had been a big step forward in his progress.

He may have been slightly tipsy, but Zoro still noticed when Luffy started to edge closer to him. His flow of words faltered slightly when Luffy draped an arm around Zoro's shoulders and propped his chin the left one. Zoro turned his head to look at Luffy, and their noses ended up bumping into each other. Zoro twitched his head backwards in surprise.

"You're very strong, huh…" Luffy said in an almost whisper.

"Yeah. I like to think so. Not strong enough though," Zoro responded lowly, his breath tickling Luffy's face.

"I like strong people like you."

"Yeah?"

"Mmmhm. I don't think…that I've been strong recently." The smile fell and Zoro felt disappointed, and had an urge to try and put it back somehow.

"I think you've been strong. It ain't a weakness to cry," he pointed out, managing to pinpoint just the thing that was bothering Luffy by the way the boy squirmed awkwardly, obviously disagreeing with him. "What, you don't think so?"

"I just think that…instead of crying, I should have been able to fight. Like against that gun lady! I could have definitely taken her on," he insisted. Zoro clapped his hands down on Luffy's shoulders, startling him into silence.

"You did what you were meant to. And what about that Kuro guy, eh? You beat him down and saved Usopp. And I believed you could do it without any help from me," he countered somewhat fiercely. Luffy paused and nodded, almost bumping foreheads with Zoro in the close proximity. "So… so yeah, you're pretty strong too.

"But you're not just _strong_, you're also brave. I mean, you keep going with some sort of determination, or something. Even though you've been through a lot, you're setting out on a mission on a moment's notice. Plus you're smart enough to think up a plan of action, right? So, yeah, you've got a lot going for you…" Zoro finished lamely.

Luffy, instead of thinking of a response, lurched forward awkwardly and slammed their mouths together. Zoro let out a muffled grunt of shock but, for whatever reason, didn't want to pull away. Maybe it was the three or four bottles of sake he'd consumed earlier, and perhaps he just wasn't holding his liquor as well as he normally did, but his head was void of any coherent thought while Luffy's tongue struck out against his upper lip and Zoro just opened his mouth to let it in.

Luffy, meanwhile, felt giddy and warm while their tongues met one another in the wet, sloppy, _exciting_ kiss. One of Zoro's hands found its way onto the back of Luffy's neck, thumb caressing the nape absently, while the other hand trailed down to hold Luffy's waist. If those didn't count as encouragement, nothing did, Luffy decided and was spurred on, kissing with enthusiasm.

Zoro started to respond, adding his own force to the kiss, entwining his tongue around Luffy's like some sort of dance. Luffy's response was to moan, and the noise was swallowed by Zoro's mouth. Egged on by Luffy, Zoro backed Luffy up against the wall and straddled him (the blanket crumpling to the floor), ignoring the awkward difference in size, and pressed their fronts together. Luffy adjusted by wrapping his arms around Zoro and clamping his hands down on the other's ass.

Zoro let out the most unmanly squeak of his life. He broke the kiss for a moment, panting heavily. Luffy, equally out of breath, grinned at him and didn't let go. Zoro's ears were coloured bright red, which was oddly endearing to Luffy. He waited for a moment, but since Zoro didn't make a move to resume or pull away completely, Luffy leant forward to attach his mouth to the swordsman's neck, sucking on the flesh there and making Zoro produce the high noises of pleasure this time.

Zoro's eye shut and he let Luffy take over. Zoro's skin was still slightly sweaty from his work-out with the weights and Luffy, instead of being disgusted, rather enjoyed the salty taste across his collar bones as he trailed his tongue across, nipping here and there to get Zoro to make noises in his throat.

Zoro's fingers trailed up to tangle in Luffy's unruly locks, grasping them hard enough to make Luffy wince slightly, but he ignored them and continued covering Zoro's pecs in love-bites. The almost animalistic grunts and growls in pleasure made Luffy shiver and he continued to get more daring just so that he could hear more from Zoro's mouth. While his mouth was busy, Luffy's hands squeezed and kneaded the ass beneath them, eliciting completely different guttural noises from his favourite swordsman. Luffy adjusted his seating and pulled Zoro flush against him so that he could rub his leg against the other's crotch, hands leaving Zoro's behind to come around to the front and started fiddling with the zipper.

Zoro froze and shot his hands out, practically launching himself off of Luffy and onto the floor. Luffy sat there, stunned, with his mouth hanging open in surprise. He blinked down at Zoro a couple of times before letting his hands fall to his sides and snapping his jaw shut with an audible click. Zoro sat up and raked his fingers through his short hair, flustered.

"L-Luffy, I uh…I didn't see that coming," he admitted lowly. Luffy was unsure of what to say.

"Uhhh…" he attempted, casting his awkward gaze to the floor.

"That wasn't- I mean- Wasn't that being a _little_ too fast?" Zoro asked breathlessly. "I mean, the kiss was a surprise enough, and uh...well, that is to say…" He tried to think of the correct words with his mind still in a muddle.

"Sorry. I'm sorry!" Luffy bent forward in an awkward bow where he sat. "I was getting ahead of myself...it's just I was really excited! And I, I guess I kind of assumed that you were okay with it," he finished in a mumble, scratching his head. Zoro stood up and padded over to the weights where he'd abandoned his shirt, picking it up and pulling it on, then moved back over to where Luffy was, sitting down next to him.

"I don't get it. Why you did that in the first place," he said. Luffy didn't respond, only bowed his head awkwardly. Zoro waited another moment before pulling the blanket up off the floor and holding it out. "In any case. It's late and you should be asleep."

Luffy looked at the blanket and then at Zoro. Zoro patted his shoulder to indicate that Luffy could rest there, if he wanted. Luffy hesitated for only a second before scooting towards him and laying his head right where Zoro had indicated. Zoro wrapped the blanket around them both and an arm around Luffy, making him comfortable enough to sleep.

Luffy wondered if this was Zoro's way of saying "don't worry about it", because if it was, Luffy was relieved to have the reassurance that he didn't mess anything up. Because while he knew that he loved all of his friends as equals, and he really shouldn't be putting them in any sort of order, whether it was a rank or alphabetised priority, Zoro was, after all, his most _important _friend.

Squishing up to Zoro as close as he could, Luffy murmured under his breath, "I like you best, you know." Zoro showed barely a reaction, but Luffy felt a small jump of his muscles which came from surprise, and snuggled down to sleep and leave Zoro to his own thoughts on the matter. Of course, he dropped to sleep in minutes, having been exhausted earlier that evening.

Zoro _was_ mulling over his thoughts. His mind buzzed with questions like _why?_ Luffy struck him as the spontaneous sort, and that was probably what this whole…ordeal was. The kiss, and what it evolved into. Luffy didn't seem to feel the need to explain himself either, another aspect of his personality which Zoro had noticed. He groaned under his breath, deciding he didn't want to think about it right now.

Well, regardless of _why_ Luffy had done it, Zoro felt restless; thanks to Luffy, his pants felt uncomfortable, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to admit it. Up until this moment, Zoro wasn't even sure if he cared for either gender in _that_ way. Well, which_ever_ way it was, Zoro had a problem to get rid of.

_How am I to deal with this?_ He wondered, glancing down at the placid boy wedged onto his side (in his blind spot, so he had to make an effort to turn his head without disturbing Luffy) then down at his lap. He thought briefly of the pervert chef taking off his clothes only to reveal that he was covered in thick, black, gross body hair. The thought made him smirk and pat his smooth chest with pride. He'd never been able to grow chest or leg or back hair for some reason. But that was good, because Zoro wasn't fond of hair and liked being smooth. _Who needs a beard anyway, eh?_ He thought to himself, reminded of that morning's conversation.

Somehow, the shudder-inducing mental image of the cook looking like a Sasquatch helped infinitely, getting rid of the uncomfortable stiffness (and replacing it with an uncomfortable ache in his balls, but Zoro was going to be a man and ignore that) and he was able to settle down peacefully.

Now that he was comfortable and had Luffy cuddling him and a blanket over him, Zoro felt rather tired and wished that he could end his watch and just go to sleep. But duty called – a duty which he had been neglecting while Luffy was awake – so Zoro forced himself to keep his eyes open. If only there was coffee around here.

But the gentle lull of the ship rocked him soothingly, and Zoro's eyes begun to droop despite his better judgement, until he was leaning his head on Luffy's and dozing off. He always only fell into a light sleep, alert in the back of his mind, and never too far away from his swords. It'd be okay if he rested his eyes for a short while. It'd be okay as long as he woke up before the shift change (he'd forgotten whose turn it was after his. Or maybe he never knew in the first place).

Eventually Zoro had become lax and started to snore softly, cheek squished against Luffy's black mop of hair. It was peaceful; the waves lapping the sides of the ship almost silently. No seagulls were awake to caw to their flock, and no monsters lurked beneath the surface of the water, waiting to mount an attack.

It was nice.

But not ten minutes after Zoro had slipped into sleep, he was jolted awake when there was the sound of an explosion, and the ship began to rock violently. Zoro leapt to his feet, only slightly disoriented, and grabbed his swords, leaving Luffy to scrabble in startled confusion as he woke up properly.

"What- what was that?!" he yelled, throwing the blanket off of him in a hurry.

"I don't know!" Zoro yelled right back, having flung the hatch open and already started climbing down the mast. Luffy found his hat and jammed it onto his head, which took the same time it did for Zoro to get to the deck, before jumping down after him. "The explosion sounded distant, maybe it was a small one. Was it below deck?!"

"Maybe it was cannon fire!" Luffy suggested, darting around deck.

Zoro looked left and right sharply before dashing towards the nearest door and flinging it open to check for fires. Oddly enough, he couldn't smell smoke anywhere, nor could he see any signs of an attack – or an attacker for that matter.

"Wha? Wass goin' on?" Usopp slurred sleepily as he tumbled out of the men's room, urged on by a panicked looking Franky muttering about the safety of his ship. Sanji was still inside, trying to hurriedly stuff his feet into his shoes in case he was going to be needed in a fight, while at the same time pacifying Chopper and trying to keep him inside the room.

Nami came out of her room, pulling her dressing gown on and trying to assemble her broken wooden pole at the same time. She cursed how useless it was going to be in a fight when it lacked reach, but when she looked up, there weren't any enemies.

"Oi, you shitty look-out!" Sanji called from the doorway, once he'd gotten over seeing Nami in her sleep wear. "What's going on? What was the loud boom?!"

"I don't know! I didn't see anyone!" Not that he'd been awake to see…but he wasn't about to tell anyone that.

"Where's Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"He's right by m- " Zoro paused, realising that Luffy wasn't where Zoro had last seen him, and looked around in confusion. "Luffy? Oi, where did you go?"

"You _lost_ him?" Sanji asked incredulously. Zoro took the time to shoot him a sour look.

"Do I _look_ like some sort of caretaker to you?" he snapped back.

"Kinda, yeah. I mean, that's the impression I got when I saw you guys, and by the story you told me. And by the way you _snuggled_ last night~!" Sanji wrapped his arms around himself, wiggling his shoulders. A movement which clashed with the shit-eating grin on his face.

Zoro went pink in the face and growled. "Well I ain't. Luffy can do whatever he wants, as long as he doesn't get hurt along the way."

"Isn't that sweet. Doesn't explain where he is, though."

That was true, Zoro had to admit, and he looked around in confusion. Luffy hadn't gone below deck at any point, had he? And he didn't get past the flow of people coming out of the rooms, or Zoro would have noticed. He wasn't at the bow of the ship, either.

_In that case…!_ Zoro darted around the outside of the galley and looked up at the bulbous roof of the bath house situated at the stern of the ship. That was where he saw Luffy standing, looking out to the ocean. He was oddly illuminated by an orange glow, casting a halo around his soft hair and flickering on his smooth skin. For a moment, Zoro thought Luffy looked breath-taking.

Then he focused on what was casting the orange glow; a blazing fireball in the near distance which, upon closer inspection, was the shape of a ship. There was the silhouette of a second ship near it, too. Zoro ran to climb up on the roof to join Luffy where he stood.

"That was what made the explosion?" Zoro hazarded. Luffy shrugged.

"I guess. It's on fire, so…"

"So it would be safe to assume," Zoro agreed. "In that case it's not our problem, right?" In fact, it would make more sense if they backed away from the fight and sailed harmlessly around.

"Hey, Zoro?" Luffy asked, ignoring Zoro's comment. Zoro made a noise of acknowledgement. "I think…I think we should go help them. Possibly…" He shifted his weight restlessly from one foot to the other. Zoro wondered what he was possibly thinking.

"Why? It'd be bad if we were attacked too! What if they're our enemies, you know?"

"I know but…I think I recognise the mark on the ship," Luffy admitted.

"You do?" Zoro turned to squint at the ship in the distance again. By this point, the others had gathered around them, choosing not to climb up as high as the two, and gazing out to the same flaming ship in the distance, just as the mast on said ship cracked and toppled into the sea. Franky made a pained noise in his throat.

"Oi, oi… Now that you mention it…" Usopp said hesitantly, "even though I can't see it properly from this angle, it kind of looks like the mark of a pirate."

"Wait, that's -!" Zoro gawped. "That's the mark of the most terrifying man of the seas! Whitebeard!"

"That's what I thought," Luffy confirmed. He'd seen it once maybe, when Ace had sent a letter home and had sketched a small version on the corner of the paper – it had been kind of wonky but neither of them exactly excelled at art, but that didn't stop Luffy from recognising the real thing.

"And that means you think we should go over there?"

"B-B-But!" Usopp stuttered in protest. "Whitebeard? _The strongest man in the world?_ If it's really his ship, then the people on it don't need _our_ help, they can take care of themselves, right? No need to get involved, ha ha ha!"

"But what if my brother's on that ship?" Luffy countered.

"And why would he…?" Usopp hesitated to ask. Luffy's brother was the person they were trying to meet, right? He vaguely recalled that from when Nami was bringing him up to speed on the situation. His name was Ace or something.

"Ace is a Whitebeard Pirate!"

"Wh- WHAT?! And when was anyone planning on telling me this?!" He looked between the group with a betrayed expression. No one responded, ignoring his indignation.

"So, you're saying," Nami said slowly, "that we should go over to the burning ship full of pirates in order to _help_ them, on the off-chance that one of the occupants happens to be your brother. Am I correct?" She rested her hands on her hips in her best irate pose.

"Yes," Luffy confirmed, as though it were obvious.

"Absolutely not!"

"I agree with Nami!" Sanji said instantly, holding his hand up.

"Yep, no way I'm going over there either," Usopp agreed, face contorting in horror at the thought of barging in on the fight. They'd be out of their league, no doubt. Plus Usopp was a sniper! He did long range stuff; getting closer would be a disadvantage to him!

"But we should go over anyway," Zoro said, arms folded. He hadn't taken his eye off the ship as it slowly split apart. He could make out distant figures in front of the flames sometimes, and they looked like they were fighting, but identifying them was too difficult.

"Oi, grass-head, you can't seriously be agreeing with Luffy's dumb idea!" Sanji protested angrily, starting to climb up to where Zoro was so that he could kick some sense into him. Zoro turned finally and scowled.

"You're the idiots here!"

"Why you -!"

"Yesterday, we all agreed to let Luffy take Captaincy of the ship; that means he gives orders and we follow. It was an almost unanimous decision –" Zoro eyed Usopp before returning his gaze to the damn chef "– which _means_ that whatever _Captain_ Luffy tells us to do, we do."

There was a stunned silence and people exchanged stunned glances.

"I-" Sanji started, just as speechless as the rest. Then he pulled out a cigarette from the box kept in his pants, lit it, and inhaled slowly. "I understand," he said calmly instead, blowing out a stream of smoke. Zoro nodded, then looked at the rest of them.

"Oi, Luffy-bro," Franky spoke up. He'd been silent for the whole conversation, up until now. Luffy looked away from the burning ship and towards the cyborg. "Just one thing. Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure. Ace is _definitely_ on that ship. Call it intuition, I guess, but I just _know_. And even if he doesn't need our help to fight, he'll need somewhere to be once that ship sinks," Luffy explained.

"Alright then."

"Alright," Nami echoed his agreement. Chopper stomped his hooves enthusiastically, caught up in the excitement. Usopp sighed, looking like he wanted to protest, but nodded in determination all the same.

"Fine."

"Thanks," Luffy smiled, then pointed towards the ship slowly turning into a wreckage. "Then let's turn hard port!"

"AYE-AYE!" Franky called and dashed over to the wheel, spinning it. The sails swung around and started bringing them around to the direction they wanted to go in. The others rushed to start preparing for a fight, which involved wearing more appropriate clothing and, in Nami's case, finding a new weapon.

"Nami-sis!" Franky called out. Nami came out of her room wearing fight-appropriate attire, looking over at him. "If you want something to fight with, go to my work shop. You'll find a metal pole there which has a longer reach and a harder hit, leaning up against my work desk!"

"Thanks!" Nami yelled and ran inside to find, first the work shop, then the metal rod.

Franky turned back to the battle they were slowly approaching, and raised his sunglasses to get a better look at the other ship. He whistled in disbelief when he got close enough to get a good look at the ship attacking the Whitebeards.

"Hey, Luffy-bro!" he called over his shoulder. Luffy looked at him, cocking his head to one side. "You always wanted to be a pirate right?"

"I do!"

"Well, get ready to become one, because we're about to pick a fight with the marines."

**TBC**

**A/N - Happy with how things are progressing? Hey, don't look at me. I don't write the fic, the fic writes itself. It just happens. I swear.**


	15. Reunited

**A/N - I just moved into my halls at Uni. For like 5 days I didn't have internet (which is why you didn't get this chapter last week). I can't even remember what happened in this chapter. I have the worst cold and my brain is muddled and I can't think straight but I hope it makes sense and I'll try to get the new chapter out for next week (after all, it's the bit I've been waiting for since I started this story oh man). Now onto thanks; thank you to Key, xAlreadyOverx, Tammy, FlightWulf, AcexLuffyxZoro, and Lover's Red Rose. (For the record you guys; you can ask me all sorts of things about the plot but I'm never gonna answer them. You just gotta search inside yourself for the true answer). **

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 15**

"No one, _no one_ told me this would involve attacking the Marines!" Usopp bemoaned, leaning against the mast and banging a forlorn fist against it. "How did this happen? Why do bad things happen to _me_?" He was largely ignored.

Luffy stood on the figurehead of the ship in anticipation. He planned to be at the forefront of the battle once they arrived. In a similar vein, Zoro was standing on the bow with his swords drawn and poised for a fight. They were close enough now that they could hear the noises of battle, and everyone was getting into their own fighting stance.

Nami had her metal rod, which she clutched nervously. Usopp's slingshot was already half-loaded so that he could fire it at a moment's notice. Franky was making sure his arm weapons were loaded. Sanji liked to think of himself as always ready to fight. Chopper, who had never been in a fight before, continually got ushered back inside and kept coming out again.

When there was barely any distance between the Thousand Sunny and the other two ships, their presence had to be acknowledged. Luffy had darted onto the wrecked ship, fists raised and ready to fight anyone who strayed into their path. He was looking around for his brother. Something in his mind _told _him that Ace was in there. He could feel it. It was more than instinct or intuition or whatever; it was like Ace's presence was being projected into his head.

The ship was unstable and sinking slowly. Luffy had nearly been caught in more than one fight already, though none of them involved Ace so he didn't stick around to watch. There was fire everywhere to be careful of, and Luffy nearly got burned more than once. The smoke was choking him up, but that made it all the more important to find Ace and get him off this wreckage and onto the Sunny.

His instinct told him to look down. Ace was below deck. Luffy had to trust his instinct and search downwards, because his instinct told him that there was no way he was wrong. He had a feeling, coming from his chest. So he ploughed downwards through a hole in the deck.

Back on the Sunny, Zoro was getting a proper grasp of the situation before jumping into the fray. He was sure he recognised the people who were supposedly marines attacking the pirates. No one else seemed to be aware of it, he noticed as he glanced around. The people were certainly working for the marines, but they weren't just your average mooks.

"Oi, Franky," he called out. The cyborg, being closely related to royalty, was surely up to date on world affairs and such, so he was the most likely one to know what Zoro was on about.

"What's up, sword-bro?" Franky called back over the noise of battle.

"Have you ever heard of _Cipher Pols?_"

Franky paused and raised his sunglasses with a finger. "I've heard of them. 'CP' for short. Dangerous groups who fight for justice, I think… Are you suggesting something?" By now, everyone else on the ship had started listening in (which wasn't hard, as they had to yell to each other in the first place).

"Yeah. Alright, then have you heard of CP9?" Zoro prompted, mouth forming a grim line. Franky looked bewildered, confirming that he didn't, in fact, know of CP9, so Zoro elaborated. "They're the Government's secret weapon, essentially. They work with the Government, and by relation, the Marines."

"And what you're saying is that right now, these people we're up against…?"

"Exactly. I'm certain that they're CP9."

"Now hold up, Marimo-head!" the angry yell of the cook came from somewhere behind Zoro's shoulder. "Are you saying that we're about to face off with a bunch of super powerful Government human weapons?!"

"What?" Zoro turned to smirk at him. "Don't think you can handle it?"

"What was that?! Of course I can handle it! And I'll be kicking more of their asses than you!" Sanji retorted furiously.

Zoro let out a bark of laughter. "We'll see about that, prissy-boy. But I doubt someone like Sanji retorted furiously.

Zoro let out a bark of laughter. "We'll see about that, prissy-boy. But I doubt someone like _you_ could handle something even the Whitebeard Pirates are struggling against! I bet you won't even be able to defeat one!"

"You're on, shit-swordsman!"

With it being decided, Zoro and Sanji made their way onto the ship where the fights were taking place, ready to beat some Cipher Pol ass. The pirates who had been in the middle of the fray had yelled in shock at their appearance, bringing their weapons up. Zoro drew a sword and pointed it at a large, round man who had just been fighting them.

"My target is those guys, not you!" he yelled his assurance before drawing the other one and charging. Sanji had done similar, coming at a man who looked dressed for Kabuki theatre, rather than a fight. Franky had followed their lead and charged onto the ship, guns blazing, but the rest chose to stay back and guard the ship.

Usopp had chosen a high vantage point on the ship where he could aim and shoot at the enemy easily and still maintain a safe distance. However, that distance didn't last long once they realised they were being shot at. Immediately, one man with horn-shaped hair had appeared (rather abruptly and alarmingly) on the ship's deck.

Usopp let out a squawk of surprise, taken aback. Nami raised her metal rod threateningly, but the tremors in her body were an obvious indicator that she was just as frightened as Usopp. Chopper was torn between fight and flight, rearing up in alarm and hiding partially behind the main mast.

"You have no business here," the man grunted. Nami's grasp on her rod tightened at the possibility of a threat, and narrowed her eyes.

"W-We do!" Usopp called from his high perch. "Because our captain does!" Nami glanced around at him, gaping for a moment. Then her jaw snapped shut and a determined expression settled onto her face. Turning back to the man, she nodded.

"That's right! Our captain is here to assist his brother, and we're here to assist him!"

"If that is the case…" the man said, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Nami blinked in confusion, looking around. Usopp shrieked behind her, and she whipped around to find the hulking man towering over the sharpshooter. "…I will eliminate you along with your captain and his brother."

"How did he-?!" Nami could barely ask before a large fist came swinging down and connected with Usopp's side with a crunch. He went flying and nearly went over the edge, but Chopper had darted up and grabbed Usopp's forearm in his teeth. Usopp howled but Chopper didn't let go, backing up slowly to pull the boy back to safety. "Good, Chopper!" Nami praised.

There was a rush of air. She looked up, and discovered that the man had moved again. Only this time, he was not beside Usopp or Chopper, and a looming shadow fell over her. Nami threw herself to the ground just in time to avoid the strong punch the man attempted to deliver. Bringing her rod up, she blocked the second one he brought down. The force made her grunt and strain, the man's clearly superior strength overpowering hers and pushing the pole into her chest roughly.

"Nami!" bellowed Usopp, and before the man could deliver another (most definitely fatal) attack, a flaming pellet flew from somewhere behind her and connected with the man, right in the face. His hand flew up to his eye as he released a howl of rage. The pellet fell harmlessly to the floor once it had lost momentum and its flame, but the damage had been done. The man's eye was red and puffy, and there was no chance he could possibly see out of it.

"Usopp!" Nami called in delight. "Thank you so much!"

"Ahhh, it was nothing!" Usopp dismissed, though clearly flattered. Nami took notice of the fact that the arm Chopper had grabbed him with was the one he used to pull back the pellets in his slingshot, and it was trembling terribly. Even when it was shaking so, Nami was amazed that he was able to aim so effectively.

Before either of them could say anything more, Chopper charged between them, head bowed. He galloped right at the man, who looked ready to retaliate despite his half-blind state, and head-butted him hard enough to send him flying. He hit the deck, sprawling and coughing.

"Yeah, take that!" Usopp cheered. "You can't beat our team! We're the best!"

"You can bet," Nami grouched, grabbing her pole and walking up to the man. Before he could get up and fight again, she brought it down on his head with a crack from as much force as she could manage, probably knocking him unconscious. Not willing to take any chances, though, Nami nudged him with a toe. "We should…tip him over the edge of the ship."

"We should! That'd stop him…but Nami, he'd drown!" Usopp gasped. Nami scowled and nodded.

"Yes, but what else are we going to do with him? Return him to his ship by willingly entering a place packed with strong fighters like this one with a reason to hurt us? Or let him stay on our ship until he gets better? And Chopper," she huffed at the reindeer, "stop giving me that resentful look!"

Indeed, Chopper's eyes were wide and upset, so Nami turned her gaze away.

"We can't be merciful here, guys. These are people who are trying to kill us. So we should kill them."

"I…" Usopp took a deep breath and exhaled, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, okay, fine."

"…Really?" Nami blinked over at him, surprised that he'd actually agreed. Usopp nodded decisively and started kicking the guy towards the railing. Nami bit her lip nervously and watched for a while until the man had gone as far as possible, then went over to heft him over the railing.

Chopper had to turn away, unable to watch them dispose of a life. They all winced when the loud splash came.

"I'm…surprised, though. Your resolve came so much quicker than I expected it to," Nami admitted. Usopp shrugged and scratched the back of his neck.

"My dad's a pirate, you know. I want to be one too. I like the idea Luffy came up with that we're pirates, but pirates are ruthless people towards their enemies. And, well, this particular enemy was a threat to my friends, so I had to make sure…had to make sure I got rid of him so that I could protect you." He looked oddly abashed at the admittance, twiddling his thumbs. "I dunno, I felt that way when I saw him overpowering you, too…"

"Oh, yeah…" Nami flexed her arms, wincing. That guy had been built like a truck, after all, and she already ached from her brief wrestling match with him.

"S-Still!" Usopp perked up cheerfully. "Look, we just vanquished an enemy!" He struck a majestic pose, which looked ridiculous in anyone else's eyes, but Chopper still came over hesitantly, looking up at him with large eyes. Usopp patted his nose apologetically. "I'm sorry, Chopper. That you had to see something like that." Chopper snorted into his hand. Usopp took that as an apology.

Slipping into a hole created alongside other damages during a fight seemed like the best idea to Luffy. After all, if there was a hole which wasn't meant to be there, generally something has passed through the wood to create the hole. Maybe it was Ace who had gone through the wood to create this hole. Theory decided, Luffy had hopped down into the darkness and immediately landed on something squishy, round, and which groaned in pain when Luffy landed on it.

"Bastard!" the person moaned. Luffy perked up at the voice.

"Ace?!" he asked hopefully, stepping off what was probably Ace's face and crouching down at him to get a better look. The figure sat up, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, that's me –" Ace paused, blinking rapidly in confusion, before turning to stare at Luffy. "Wait, Luffy?! What- but- what are _you_ doing here?!" he demanded, leaping to his feet. Luffy simply grinned in response. Ace gaped, shaking his head.

"Never mind that, you should _definitely_ not be here! Oh no, they'll be after you too for sure!" he lamented, slapping a palm to his forehead. Luffy tilted his head, baffled.

"Why shouldn't I be here? And who _else_ is going to go after me? You know, Ace, I came to help you! I saw your ship so I was going to fight the bad guys and bring you back!" he protested, sticking his tongue out. Sure, a part of him expected that Ace wouldn't be happy to see him under the circumstances, but he didn't have to be so mean about it.

"Look, Luffy, those people fighting up there are here for me, for the same reason they're after you, which is why you can't be here!"

"Who's after me? I know Crocodile is; for this, right?" He dug into the neckline of his shirt and pulled out the locket, holding it up for Ace to see in the dim light. Ace nodded hastily and waved a frantic hand.

"Oi, put that away!" he ordered and Luffy obeyed, tucking it back in safely, despite not knowing why it was so important to hide it. "Yes, Crocodile is after you for that – he's after me for mine too, but that's not the most important thing right now. See, the people here are after you and me _because_ Crocodile is after us. Does that make sense?"

"No," Luffy admitted. Ace shook his head, not offering any more on the subject. "I'll explain later then—"

He was cut off by an almighty crash from above them, sending splintered wood raining down on them. Luffy shielded his face with his arms, yelling in alarm. Ace also threw up an arm to block his face from the rubble, and his other arm came up in front of his chest to block the sudden incoming attack from the man who had ploughed through and caused the crash in the first place.

He had black hair and a top hat on, looking more dignified than someone who had just slammed through a ceiling should, brushing off some dirt from his jacket. Luffy instantly didn't like him.

"Portgas D. Ace," the man said neutrally as his kick was blocked. "And…" his eyes slid past Ace's shoulder to lock with Luffy's. "Monkey D. Luffy. What a fortunate coincidence," he commented. Ace scowled at him and stepped further in front of Luffy.

"Oh no, you're not getting your hands on him," he warned, falling into a fighting stance. The man raised a thin eyebrow, unimpressed, and took one step forward before vanishing from sight. Alarm bells went off in Luffy's head and told him to duck, so he threw himself downwards, avoiding the fist which had swung at him from his left, and jerked to the right, out of harm's way.

"Not bad," the man conceded, though he still didn't sound all too impressed, and darted forwards again. Before Luffy reacted, Ace shot forward and slammed a fist into the man's side, sending him flying.

"I said you can't have him, so don't even bother trying!"

"Ace!" Luffy beamed, getting up to stand beside him and raising his own fists.

"You good still, Luffy?"

Luffy noised his affirmation, and Ace nodded, satisfied.

"Good. I still don't know what you're doing here, but since you are, I guess it can't be helped. We'll kick this guy's ass together, right?"

"Right!" Luffy agreed. They grinned at one another before both jumping back to avoid the next attack brought by the man, skidding slightly as they went. Before the man could mount his follow-up attack, Luffy jumped and Ace held out his hands, palm-up. When Luffy landed on them, he threw the younger upwards to the hole in the ceiling. Luffy caught the edge and managed to drag himself up. Once he was up he held out his hand for Ace.

Ace paused to throw himself out of the way of another attack, then held his hand in front of him. Luffy watched in confusion when there was a bang, and a barrel behind their assailant burst into flames. At the distraction the fire gave him, Ace turned back to Luffy and jumped as high as he could, grabbing his hand. Luffy nearly got pulled back in, but he managed to edge backwards, pulling Ace up as he went, until the other could grab the edge and get up by himself.

This was a technique they'd employed a lot as kids who got into fights for when they needed to make a quick escape. Ace was always strong enough to take Luffy's weight and toss him upwards, and Luffy would always just about be able to pull him upwards.

They stood and looked around. A lot of people were lying unconscious on the deck – which was now dangerously close to water level – pirates and attackers alike. Zoro was standing on top of an unconscious lump with a zipper for a mouth, bickering with Sanji who had one foot on the face of an eccentric, wild-haired lump.

"I got mine first, asshole!" Luffy could hear them screaming to each other. Zoro and Sanji had been fighting, that much was apparent. Luffy felt disappointed that, yet again, Luffy hadn't been able to see Zoro's fighting style. But now wasn't the time, and they had important things to do.

"Shit, Thatch's men!" Ace swore in panic. "They need to get on the spare lifeboat. I don't think it's damaged yet…how can I move them?" he muttered to himself. "That bastard's going to come after us, we don't have much t—"

"You don't!" the man from before agreed, leg shooting out behind Ace and nailing him in the back. Ace flew forward, landed on his hands, then flipped back onto his feet. He spun around hastily. Luffy had his fists raised and was trying to land a solid hit on the top-hatted bastard. So far, any punch he _had_ landed had been superfluous, like the man had barely felt it.

Frank realised that Luffy would need some assistance, and held up his hand, swinging it open at the hinge and aiming his rocket launcher at Top-hat. The man had to leap out of the way when the rocket shot towards him at high speed, rolling smoothly back into a standing position. Franky gritted his teeth and started up his machine gun, spraying bullets in the man's direction. Luffy stood on the side and cheered Franky and his awesomeness on, excited. The bullets barely grazed the guy, tearing his suit more than himself, which aggravated Franky as he continued his assault.

Ace took the noisy, violent distraction Franky was providing and started moving bodies from the ship and onto the boat. He had to be selective; some of them were dead, and while he would want to be able to recover their corpses, the Whitebeards had an agreement that a dead person is less important than a living one. Also that dying and being buried at sea like a true pirate is an honour. So, with that in mind, he grabbed only the live ones and tried to pile them all onto the boat safely.

This ship was Thatch's; Ace had been escaping from the government and CP9 on the 4th Division ship because the 2nd division was scattered over the Grand Line gathering intelligence as Ace had ordered them to, so that they would understand enemy movements. There was only half of Thatch's division on the ship, but he'd lost over a quarter of the men he was in charge of. Ace winced at the thought.

Once he was certain he'd saved all that he could, Ace turned his attention back to the fight, which the other two of Luffy's friends were now joining in, just in time to see Luffy get knocked to the floor hard enough to send wood flying. It was much like what the man did to Ace before Luffy had found him.

"LUFFY!" Ace cried and charged towards Top-hatter, fist raised and burning – literally – with his rage. The fist impacted with the man, charring through his clothes and sending him flying back. Top-hatter let out his first pained cry since the fight began. To Ace's right, Luffy groaned and climbed up. Ace helped him and brushed off his shirt when he was on his feet.

Luffy took the time to call out to his friends if there was anyone else left to fight.

"Well, I took out a couple of guys, and a woman got on board the Sunny but I think the others took care of her," Franky explained. Then he jerked his thumb at Zoro and Sanji. "These two couldn't stop bickering for some reason."

"I take offence to that," Zoro grumbled. "It's the pervert cook's fault, not mine."

"Oi, you were the one who started the challenge!" And just like that, a new argument had been sparked, but it was cut short when Top-hatter charged at them again at his stunning speed. Zoro's swords were out in a flash and he swung them at the assailant, but Top-hatter blocked them with his bare arm. Zoro swore and leapt backwards to avoid the retaliation.

"What the _fuck are you_?" he demanded. Swords, more often than not, _cut_ people. _His_ swords had even cut through metal, yet this man could block him with – with what? Diamond sleeves? What the hell had he done to stop Zoro's swords?

But he couldn't sit around thinking about it when Top-hatter wasn't about to give him time, and had to avoid the next onslaught of attacks.

"Oi, swordsman!" the new black-haired boy that had come out with Luffy addressed him. "How about we team up?"

Zoro had to do a double-take; was the black-haired boy's hand on fire? He didn't seem to have noticed either, and Zoro wasn't sure if he should point it out. No, but surely someone would notice if they were burning, so Zoro assumed that he knew, and simply nodded.

"To defeat this guy? Fine." They needed to hurry up anyway; the water level had risen to the point where they splashed with every step they took. He, Luffy, Franky, Sanji and the new guy all circled around Top-hatter, hoping that at least one of them would get him with his guard down. Luffy seemed insistent that he attack from the front and kept trying to attract the guy's attention. Zoro figured he had a point, but defeating this particular enemy was more important than doing the honourable thing.

They dove into battle together; having never fought all together as a group, the fighting was somewhat mismatched, and no one could quite fall in synch with each other. Zoro was very head-on, and so was Luffy, so they would charge together and potentially hit each other too. Franky was a long-range fighter who was worried that his projectile weapons would hit his allies. Sanji's footwork, while very controlled, seemed to keep getting in the way, and he himself had to jump around and act very uncoordinated so as to avoid Luffy and Zoro. Then there was Ace, who was on fire and nobody understood why and certainly didn't want to get burned. Luffy was the only one unconcerned about fighting alongside Ace, and even he kept eyeing Ace's flames warily.

There was, however, an undercurrent of unity. Zoro was quick to adapt to situations, and he could start to work with people. There was a sense of rhythm he could feel when he shut his eyes and focused – not that he could keep his eyes shut for long during a fight – not unlike the "breath of all things" he felt back in the desert.

With it, he could sway to the rhythm, working in time with Luffy, the mysterious Ace, and Sanji. With his newly found sense giving timing to the fight, Franky was able to find openings and fire his missiles and his bizarre fist-on-a-chain. With each of their attacks, Top-hatter began to get overpowered despite his best efforts. He could barely land an attack on one opponent without another striking him from the side.

Though it was Luffy who brought the final punch down, knocking the bloodied man unconscious and out of their way. There were whoops of celebration and much patting on each other's backs, until Ace interrupted them.

"Guys, I don't want to alarm anyone -"

"A sure fire way to make sure everyone you're talking to is alarmed," muttered Sanji around his celebratory cigarette. Ace ignored him.

"- but we're about knee-deep in water now."

The group looked around in alarm, and found that it was true; they were slowly being submerged in water as the ship, previously with a slowly rising water level, was now rapidly filling with water. Luffy screeched in alarm, since he had never been able to swim for the life of him. Zoro gritted his teeth and grabbed the yelling boy around the waist, jumping into the water around the sinking ship and ignoring the sting which the salt water caused on his wounds.

Together, they made their way back to the Thousand Sunny, where Usopp had noticed them and lowered a rope. Zoro used it to clamber on-board thankfully, dropping Luffy onto the grassy deck. He was followed by the other three, and then Nami was ordering the sails to be lowered and for them to turn around and high-tail it out of there.

Ace whistled, impressed, clamping a hand down over his hat to keep it from toppling off while he looked up to admire the ship fully.

"This is a nice ship!" he complimented. Franky waved an abashed hand, a pleased grin on his face. Ace grinned back, bowing to be polite. "Thank you for allowing me on."

"Well you're Luffy's brother – you are, right? – so of course we'd let you on! After all, Luffy's been looking for you."

"He's so polite!" Nami laughed to Usopp. "You'd never believe that he was Luffy's brother!"

"Yeah, Ace is a riot!" Luffy agreed, sitting up from where he'd been deposited.

The conversation may have continued if it hadn't been for the heavy thump at the stern of the ship. Collectively, their heads whipped around, staring in horror. There, they saw a large man – _extremely_ large – wearing a hat with animal ears on it and black clothing. On his shoulder, daintily perched, was a snotty-looking man with pink hair and leather straps over his face.

Franky's eyes narrowed. "_Spanda._"

Usopp looked over in surprise. "You know this guy?"

"I sure do," Franky confirmed. "That guy with the pink hair, that is; we've run into each other before…" the look on his face told them that this encounter wasn't a pleasant one, but he shook his head so they dropped the subject.

"So…what about the guy he's sitting on?"

"Oh _that_?" Ace narrowed his eyes. "You don't know it? It works for the government and is an enemy to pirates everywhere."

"What do you mean…'it'?" Zoro asked cautiously. Ace's hands had already started burning before he even got around to replying.

"_It_ is a government-sanctioned cyborg; or it was once. Now, it's not even human, it's been turned into a robot to do government bidding. Spandam, the guy on his shoulder, must have been authorised to bring it to the attack on…me."

**TBC – FFFFIGHT SCENES. God damn, man. How do I keep ending up writing them? Also I don't plan on delving into Franky's past; it should be relatively the same as in canon.**


	16. Torn

**A/N – Oh my god this is so late. Oh my god I never realised that Uni could take it outta you so badly. This is 8 days overdue... However, here is my update, and a thumpin' good one at that. Maybe. Eventful at least. I hope you guys aren't mad. I'll continue to update when I can and preferably on Mondays, but don't hold that to me. Now for reviews… Thank you to raindropdew, key, Neko11, yaoifan, my mystery guest, and drana0 for your fabulous reviews. After each one I received I wrote a little more of this chapter, and that last one was what gave me the push I needed to get this done. Thank you guuuys I love you all.**

**Ancient Secrets**

**Chapter 16**

"A _robot_?" Franky was torn between being shocked and impressed. Ace nodded grimly, flexing his fingers and sending sparks of dancing fire upwards with each movement.

"Yeah, but be warned. He has – well, I don't know how they do it, but there's something on the palm of his hand, which sends out a shockwave. He backs a hell of a powerful punch with it. I haven't seen my fellow Whitebeard Commander Thatch, the one who the ship belonged to, since he was hit by it. Was sent flying into the distance." He shuddered. He had no idea if Thatch had survived, if he'd hit the water or land, or if it would have made any difference. He feared the idea of anyone else being hit by the giant man. "Just…be careful, yeah?"

"Still, that's cool!" Luffy declared, just as torn as Franky between being impressed and concerned. "We just have to fight him, right? He's just made of metal, how tough can he be?"

("_Just_ made of metal," Usopp muttered, shaking his head.)

"Famous last words, Luffy," Ace warned, waving a finger. Luffy tilted his head, not understanding the expression. Ace didn't feel like elaborating.

"But if it's all of us, we can take it on!" he insisted.

"Well," Zoro interrupted, "it's not like we have much choice. We either take him down or get taken down ourselves."

"Like I'd let that happen!" Franky growled. After all, if they were defeated, they'd lose Thousand Sunny as well.

"So, it's another fight!" Luffy grinned, cracking his knuckles.

Kuma turned to look at him, eyes glinting like light-bulbs. "Monkey D. Luffy. Portgas D. Ace. Order: Capture." His hand rose from where it hung at his side and he advanced on the two brothers who jumped back warily, fists raised.

Franky raised his hand and shot another missile (he was running out of projectile weapons fast) at Kuma, who didn't even try to deflect it. It impacted with him and the resulting explosion knocked Spandam right off Kuma's shoulder with an indignant squawk. Kuma himself looked unfazed.

"This guy sure is tough," Franky growled, preparing for another attack. Spandam scrabbled back to his feet, looking furious. When he attempted to clamber back onto Kuma, Usopp shot a pachinko ball at his head, knocking him back.

"Not so fast!" he yelled, sounding braver than he looked. Spandam sputtered furiously but couldn't get a word in edgeways while Usopp sent a stream of projectiles at him.

"Leave Kuma to me!" Ace yelled. "I'll just…" he readied his fists, but paused in confusion. "Huh? Shit, why isn't it working?" He began waving his hands around and blowing on them. The others watched him in confusion.

"What's up?" Luffy asked, looking over at him.

"I can't…" Ace waved his hands around some more. "…Start a fucking fire! God damn it…!"

It was true; there wasn't a single flame coming from him like there had been in his previous fight. It was like he'd been extinguished. But since nobody knew how he could create fire in the first place, no one really knew what to say.

"Don't just stand there! Detain them!" Spandam ordered to Kuma, before another pellet exploded in his face, courtesy of Usopp.

Kuma ignored Ace's predicament in favour of listening to his orders and began reaching his outstretched hand to Luffy, who backed up slightly. He glanced worriedly over to where Ace continued to do _something_, whatever it was. Kuma's hand nearly closed around Luffy's wrist when Sanji charged suddenly and kicked at the extended arm.

"Like hell!" he screamed, but the moment his leg connected with Kuma, he dropped to the ground, letting out a strangled cry and grasping his leg. Luffy had heard the crunch on impact and cringed in sympathy. Sanji's kick had done its job though, and released Luffy from Kuma for a moment, so he went over to Sanji to see if he was alright.

"Sanji!"

"I-I'm fine! _Shit_!" Was all Sanji had to say. Chopper came galloping up and bent down to Sanji, looking him over. Luffy looked at Chopper in consideration before scooping Sanji up (receiving an indignant yell from him) and depositing him on Chopper's back.

While he was doing that, Kuma hadn't backed off. Nami tried to stall him by tossing her metal rod at him in desperation. In the end it was a terrible move because now she no longer had a weapon, and the attack had been ineffective. Now she had backed away and closer to the kitchen where, if need be, she could run inside and find a new weapon at a moment's notice.

Luffy had become aware of Kuma again and was demonstrating how agile he could be by weaving in and out of the man's limbs. Kuma, however, proved to be quite quick as well, and Luffy was struggling slightly. On the side, Spandam was continually assaulted by Usopp's pellets so that he couldn't shout out any new orders (or do anything much at all).

"Come quietly with me, Monkey D. Luffy," Kuma said in his monotonous drone, as though Luffy's previous evasions didn't mean anything and that he would go along with Kuma because he'd simply _asked_.

"Like hell I will!" Luffy yelled back, sticking out his tongue.

"Don't provoke him, idiot!" Ace berated, charging up to join Luffy's side. Even if he couldn't create a fire, he sure as hell could fight with his fists. But if the blond's current state rolling around and clutching his leg was any indication, it was going to be tough to just use brute force.

When he stood deliberately in front of Luffy, Kuma gazed at him for a moment before swatting him away like a troublesome fly, sending him sprawling on the lawn deck, momentarily stunned. The ease at which Kuma had swept him aside was shocking, and now he was having trouble catching his breath. He couldn't tell what was going on with stars blotting his sight, but he forced himself to sit up, just in time to see Kuma lunge with jaw-dropping speed at Luffy while his back was turned to look at Ace.

Ace began to shake his head. If Luffy could stop being an idiot for one moment…! But just then, there was a burst of speed from the green-haired man, Zoro, who charged at Kuma with a strained cry of Luffy's name, and slashed the monstrosity right across the chest. His attack provided nothing but sparks against a metallic chest. Seconds later, Kuma's hand swooped down and hit Zoro. One minute he was there, and the next, he wasn't.

Luffy screamed, "ZORO!" and ran to the railing, reaching out a hand after him, watching the swordsman and the sword he was holding disappear over the horizon. Only his hand remained hanging in the air uselessly. He wanted to reach out further and grab hold of Zoro, and just pull him back. But he couldn't, and Zoro was well and truly gone. "…Zoro?"

A moment later there was a rush of fire spilling around him. Ace swooped down on Kuma like a blazing sun. "Get away from my brother!" he yelled, crashing bodily against Kuma and setting his clothes on fire. Kuma staggered backwards and brushed at the fire, face as unperturbed as always despite his skin (most likely fake) becoming singed.

Ace relentlessly attacked Kuma and he was forced backwards to the edge of the ship with the blazing assault. Franky, meanwhile, grabbed Luffy's arm and tried to convince him away from the battle. Luffy didn't want to be pulled away, eyes locked on the point where Zoro vanished in the distance, but Franky's tugging became insistent so he eventually had to move.

"But Zoro…"

"I know, Luffy-bro. But for now, come on!" Franky urged. Luffy reluctantly backed away from the battle and turned to watch his brother fighting.

"Ace…"

Ace didn't risk sparing him a glance in case Kuma came back full force on him and didn't stop until most of Kuma's skin had been stripped away. It was a horrifying sight to see metal workings underneath his human appearance. The only ones who didn't flinch away were Ace, who was too busy fighting him, and Franky, who had seen himself like that plenty of times. Kuma's movements had become slow and sluggish, so Ace used the last of his strength to kick him right off the edge.

Kuma hit the water with a crash, spraying Ace with the splash-back. Once he was certainly not going to emerge again, Ace grabbed Spandam and hurled him over the edge as well, to join the robotic monster.

There was a pause in which no one moved, then Ace turned to face everyone else. "He's done for," he commented. Sanji exhaled heavily from his nose, scrubbing his face with a hand.

"Fat lot of good I did," he muttered. Nami turned to Luffy, who had turned to look over the horizon again.

"Luffy…are you okay?" she asked hesitantly. Luffy turned sad eyes towards her. She held out her hands to offer him a hug but Luffy didn't take it. Instead he slouched over the railing and made whining noises.

"Zoro's _gone_…!" he murmured to himself. "He's _always_ been here. Always." That was not strictly speaking true; Zoro had been there from the moment Luffy had to flee his home village, but their adventure had started maybe only two months ago. Luffy wasn't sure exactly, since he was bad at telling time, but that hardly counted as 'always' there. But Luffy had grown to _like_ Zoro. A lot.

He squirmed internally when he thought of what he'd done to Zoro in the crow's nest only hours before. Then it had been night, and now the sun had begun to rise. Zoro hadn't said a thing on it. He'd been nice to Luffy, too! But whether that was just because of the battle, Luffy wasn't sure. Now he really needed to ask Zoro about it, desperately! But Zoro wasn't there anymore.

Luffy flopped backwards on the deck and jammed his hat over his face, letting everyone know that he wanted to go to sleep and not be disturbed.

"…We'll get him back!" Nami tried again, doing her best to sound assuring. "After all, we know which direction he went in! So we'll just head in that direction and keep going until we find him. Zoro wouldn't be hurt by a hit like that, either! He's a tough guy."

Silence for a moment, then Luffy peeked out from under his hat and offered a small grin. "We have to get him back," he agreed. "I'm counting on you, Nami." Nami offered him a thumbs-up in return.

"So, now that that's settled…" Sanji stood up, leaning heavily on the railing. "I should start making some sort of breakfast. We can work out what we're going to do while we eat. How does that sound?"

There were general sounds of approval, though none of them came from Luffy for once. They did their best to ignore Luffy's lacklustre attitude since they knew no amount of persuasion would cheer him up, but Ace did sling an arm around his neck and bodily drag him over to where Franky showed him the kitchen was.

"Now that the battle's over," he commented, "I can really appreciate this ship. It's nice."

"Thanks, bro. I built it myself, so I think it's pretty super!" Franky grinned, giving Ace a thumbs up. Ace chuckled and sat in a chair, depositing Luffy after him.

"And if you would like, er, Sanji was it? If you'd like, I can prepare a meal instead. After all, you're injured and shouldn't be walking around." When he'd said this, the reindeer came in and stared pointedly at Sanji as if to indicate that he agreed. Sanji eyed the reindeer before shaking his head.

"No, I'll be fine. After all, I have to feed everyone up; it's my job and I can't let you, as a guest, do it instead," he insisted. "Ow, Chopper!" The reindeer had rammed his head into Sanji's injured leg, making him yelp and drop to the floor. "What the hell!?" Chopper just huffed in response.

"Seems your reindeer there is pretty aware of what's going on," Ace commented. Sanji nodded.

"Mmm, he's a smart one. He also seems to have a lot of medical knowledge. More than I do, anyway." At this, Chopper bounced happily, shaking his head as though vehemently denying it despite all his cheer.

Ace considered the animal thoughtfully for a moment before pulling out a leather necklace with a large, glass bead attached. "See this?" he asked, holding it up so that the bead glinted in the light. "I was given this and told that it could give anything the power to speak. I dunno if it's bullshit or not, but your friend here may well appreciate the ability to express himself…" Chopper eyed the necklace with hesitant curiosity, and even backed up slightly when Ace approached him with it. But with slight coaxing from Ace, he let the guy tie it around his furry neck.

Both he and Sanji watched in anticipation as Chopper skittered backwards now that the necklace had been properly attached. There was silence for a few moments and then Sanji rolled his eyes and turned back to the food he was planning on preparing. "I guess it's a dud. You must've been swindled."

"I can't have; I didn't pay any amount of money for it. I was just given it, like I said," Ace said in confusion. "I dunno why anyone would hand off a necklace and claim it was something it wasn't for _free_…" He scratched his head. Sanji shrugged it off.

"Whatever, I have food to make." With that he bent down to retrieve a pan from below the counter, but before he could, there was a shriek of "You _can't_!" and Chopper's bowed head collided with Sanji's hip. He let out an "Oof!" of surprise as he dropped to the floor and turned to blink rapidly at the reindeer. "Chopper…!" he breathed.

"I said you can't! You have to give your leg a rest!" Chopper yelled in a very human voice. It sounded like that of a child, one which Sanji didn't recognise from anyone on the ship. That meant it _had_ to be Chopper speaking.

"Oi, Chopper…?" he asked, just to confirm. Chopper stopped still, realising what he'd done.

"Oh…yeah…!" he breathed, slowly lighting up. "You can understand me!" Letting out a whoop of glee, he said, "finally, I can treat you all properly for your wounds! Or at least, tell you _how_ you can be treated. There are some things hooves just can't do…but this is a big improvement!" He beamed happily over at Ace. "Hey, thanks!"

"Huh…no problem!" Ace responded, just surprised to see that it had actually worked and he hadn't been lied to for no reason.

"Now, _you_," Chopper rounded on Sanji again. "YOU can stay sitting and _not_ put any pressure on your leg. You hear?" he commanded. Sanji looked taken aback but Chopper refused to back down on his statement, staring at Sanji sternly.

"Uh…Okay," Sanji finally agreed, sliding into one of the seats and lighting a cigarette with a sigh. It was difficult, after all, to argue with someone who, up until that moment, was an animal who couldn't actually speak. "But someone has to cook at some point, you now," he pointed out.

"Don't worry!" a female voice came from the doorway, "I can cook a decent meal."

"Naaami Swan!" Sanji brightened considerably. "If not cooking means eating food prepared by your delicate, perfect hands, then I would forfeit more often!" he cooed. Nami rolled her eyes and walked in.

"Liar, you wouldn't give it up," she snorted, walking into the room. "Hey Chopper." She patted his fur as she passed.

"Hello Nami!" he cheerfully replied back. Nami jumped and stared at him in shock, recoiling slightly. "What…?!" Chopper opened his mouth to reply, but was bowled over before he could say a thing.

"What the hell?! That's SO COOL! How are you doing that?!" Luffy asked eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Chopper groaned and clambered back to his feet, shaking out his fur indignantly.

"I don't know, but the necklace…"

"I gave him a necklace to give him the ability to speak!" Ace informed his little brother. Luffy turned to him in glee and squeezed him. Ace patted him on the head.

"Aaah, that's really cool! Now we can talk properly to each other! Right, Chopper?!"

"Right!" Chopper agreed cheerfully. Nami rubbed her temples, taking her time processing this new information, before grabbing an apron from its hook and pulling it on.

"Well, that's wonderful. But Chopper, why don't you go find Usopp and show him? I'm sure he'd love to chat with you, now that you have that ability, eh?" She suggested, then looked pointedly at Luffy. "And I bet you'd _love_ to go with him, too?" She didn't wait for a response. "Yes? Good. Out!" That last part was an order which made the two scramble from the room hastily.

Nami waited until the door was slammed then flopped into the chair. "He looks happy for now…" She murmured. Sanji puffed on his cigarette and nodded. "I don't want to think about what'll happen when the excitement runs out and he starts thinking about Zoro."

"Nami dearest, I don't want to think about it any more than you do," Sanji sighed. "But for now…"

"I dunno," Ace spoke up, leaning his head in a hand and propping his elbow on the table. "That excitement was genuine but smile looked kinda…fake to me. I think he's already thinking about it."

Nami winced, and it took her a few seconds to think of a response while she washed her hands and prepared to get cooking for everyone. "…Well, Franky's already turned the ship to face the direction Zoro went in. Hopefully that'll be enough for now and Luffy will cheer up _properly_ when he gets food. After all, he likes food, doesn't he just?"

"Well, I can't deny that!" Ace agreed with a grin, then added under his breath, "I just hope it's enough…"

The food didn't take long to prepare, since Nami wasn't actually well versed in many culinary dishes, and could only make grilled cheese sandwiches for the amount of people she was feeding. Sanji insisted that it was food of the gods anyway and made a point of savouring every bite. Luffy inhaled his food, but despite the rapid pace he was eating at, it was still noticeable slower than his usual speed. This fact passed nobody by, and they exchanged concerned glances. _Will he be ok?_

* * *

The woodlands were quiet where a pink-haired girl strolled through the dappled sunlight between the leaves. She had her parasol up to keep her skin pristine and pale, and wore a frilly dress to keep herself looking adorable. If only she could say the same for her walking partner, who was dressed in tasteless clothing rather reminiscent of a priest. She eyed him, scrunching up her perfect little nose in displeasure.

"…The hell are you looking at me like that for, brat?" he sneered, bearing remarkable fang-like teeth.

"Oh, nothing," she sniffed, turning away pointedly. "I was just thinking that if you wear that ugly hat one more time, I will burn it."

"Oi!" he growled. "You will do no such thing! This is my favourite hat!"

"Of course you'd like something so uncute…" she pouted, marching ahead of him a few paces. Her partner didn't reply, which was good, because replying just made him seem even more devastatingly uncute than he already was. However, after a few moments she stopped, realising that she could no longer hear his footsteps.

"Absalom?" she asked, confused.

"Oi, Perona! Come look at this!" Perona turned fully to see what Absalom was talking about. Strutting towards where he was looking behind a bush, she looked over as well. Behind it was a man with hair practically the same colour as the grass behind it. He was sprawled unconscious in an opening between the trees, and there was a sword embedded in the ground by his head.

"Goodness!" she exclaimed, holding up a hand to her dainty lips. "He looks like he just fell from the sky!"

"Don't be so dramatic; I was thinking more like from a tree," Absalom countered. Perona ignored him, crouching down, careful not to let her skirt drag through the dirt. She poked his face to see if she could get a response. When she received none, she straightened again and shook her head.

"He's probably dead. Leave him to rot!" she ordered and turned to leave.

"Oi oi wait a minute! I recognise him!" Absalom protested. Perona whipped around and pulled a face.

"So he's one of your acquaintances? No doubt as disgusting as you, then."

"No, not an acquaintance- Hey, I am _not_ disgusting! In fact, I rather fancy myself to be dashing," he flipped his long hair over his shoulder. Perona decided to no longer dignify him with conversation on the matter, pegging him as a lost cause.

"Okay, so who is he _supposed_ to be?"

"That, I'm certain, is the green haired swordsman travelling with Monkey D. Luffy! The guy the organisation is so desperate to get their hands on!" Perona's mouth formed an O-shape and she looked back at the man to get a better look at him.

"He owns three swords, look," she pointed. "It's got to be him!"

"That's settled, then!" Absalom decided. Perona blinked at him.

"Um, excuse me? _What_, exactly, is settled?" she demanded warily. Absalom gave her one of his more feral grins.

"If we take this in to Mr 0, us mere billions can be promoted like that!" He snapped his fingers in demonstration. Perona's eyes widened in realisation and began to sparkle.

"Oh, excellent!" she gasped in glee, thinking of all the opportunities this would present to them. She hurriedly began to tug the sword out of the dirt and slide it back into its sheath.

"You're quite right! For once…" she added, shuddering. "I'll carry his swords, and you carry him. After all, I can't take a heavy load. I am far too delicate!" She placed a hand to her cheek and sighed, hopefully demonstrating how delicate she was. Absalom grunted a vague response.

"Whatever. You just mean that I'm the one who can lift him because I have the muscles, while you have sticks for legs and noodles for arms," he shot back. Perona puffed out her cheeks indignantly.

"Just for that, you can carry his swords too!" she huffed. Absalom grumbled under his breath. Perona smiled smugly, deciding that she'd won that round, and began marching towards the base. "Listen here, Absalom. Once we get there, let _me_ do the talking. We wouldn't want you botching up our promotion with your fat mouth, now would we?"

"Hey, I'm a man of many words, I'll have you know!"

"Oh yes, and they're all vulgar, disgusting words too. I wish you would not speak any longer. Yes, perhaps if you were silent, you'd be a bit more cute, you see?"

"I'll never see what you do; you're always off in a world of your own," Absalom snorted, ignoring how the head of the man he was carrying trailed on the ground roughly. "It's not too far from here now— Oi!" He cut himself off and whipped around sharply. Perona blinked at him.

"What the hell is it now, you weirdo?" she asked, arching a perfectly plucked and pencilled eyebrow. Absalom stayed silent for a couple of minutes, and Perona followed suit despite her rising agitation. Eventually, he breathed out and shook his head, turning back.

"I could have sworn I'd heard someone in the trees…" He scrubbed at his forehead. "No one's there though. Don't worry, we're good."

"Hmph, well, if you insist. It could be that terribly paranoia of yours, but I'd rather we hurried up. Better safe than sorry when it comes to business, you know," Perona said quietly, picking up her pace. Despite her words, her platform boots clomped loudly on the ground, making Absalom roll his eyes in exasperation.

"You don't know the meaning of quiet, do you?"

"I can be quiet when I want!" Perona protested, rounding on him angrily. "After all, that's why we were coupled together originally, is it not?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Absalom grumbled. Perona glared at him for a few moments longer before turning to face the path they were walking along, taking softer, quieter steps this time. Despite the fact that she always argued with him, Perona had to admit to herself that the creep had some common sense. If only he would dress better, Perona might actually respect him. That'd be the day alright.

**TBC**

**A/N – Do you hate me or do you love me, I hope it's the latter because this is the greatest part of the fic I swear. It just gets better from here on out. In theory, anyway. Also I have been dying to introduce Perona like you don't even know.**

**Edit: I _just noticed_ that my page break for this chapter, which was just a dash, vanished at some point. Has this happened to all of my _other_ dashes? **


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